


What we are working on now

by naturegirlrocks



Series: Working with what we got [3]
Category: Guardians of the Galaxy (Movies), The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Asexual Loki, F/F, F/M, Gen, Infinity Stones, M/M, May not end up where it started, More Pairings to Come - Freeform, Technobabble, avengers in space
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-02-21
Updated: 2017-11-16
Packaged: 2018-05-22 11:15:52
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 34
Words: 105,435
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6077313
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/naturegirlrocks/pseuds/naturegirlrocks
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Three 'months' later Heidrun has traveled four lightyears. A new chapter in the crew's lives are about to begin.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This first chapter is just a summary and a few descriptions. 
> 
> Reminder that this takes place after Thor2 and after the first season of Agents of Shield.

**Heidrun:**   
A spaceship designed by Tony Stark. Named after Loki's favourite pet goat as a child. The Avengers' home in space. More or less the physical embodiment of the AI known as JARVIS (see more below). Constructed of scrapped parts from three busted Hellicarriers, salvaged Chitauri tech, some gifts from NASA, and some odd pieces from the old abandoned Howard Stark space program. 

The Bridge: at all time occupied by at least two people whereof at least one pilot. 

The Navigation room: Observatory, Telematics and Jane Foster's lab. 

The Conservatory: where food is grown and agricultural experiments happen. 

The Gym: has a folded infinity loop running track, work out equipment, and lots of mirrors. 

The Common room: movie room, game room, play room. Interior design by Loki. 

The Med bay: Kingsley's office, Observation room, Surgery room, Freeze Machine room. 

The Engine room: pretty self-explaining. Has exit to outside maintenance. 

The Prep Room: where you dress for space walks and outside maintenance. 

The Loading bay: biggest room apart from gym. Holds Tanngnorst and Tanngrisner.

The Storage and Inventory rooms: contains supplies, governed over by Phil Coulson. 

Tony's workshop: what it says in the box, though much smaller than you'd expect. 

The Small Lab: radiation research. Bruce Banner's workstation. 

The Big Lab: various science stuff. Jemma Simmons' and Leo Fitz' workstation. 

The Kitchen: also self-explaining, has a big table for about ten people. 

The Airlock: for docking, also serves as emergency Hulk-cage. 

Living quarters: thirteen small rooms, has double bed, closet, and private toilet. 

Extra rooms: seven living quarters that are used as storage or for privacy. 

Toilets: three public with four seats each. 

Shower room: seven shower booths, coed, at the moment only recycled water. 

Extra bathroom: one, used primarily when risk of infections. 

Secret Storage Room: where the Mind Stone is hidden. 

Corridors and Elevators: you know what these are, do I really need to explain?

 

Notes:

Idun's potion: A magical and sacred Asgardian potion. It holds healing powers. If given to humans it can prolong their lives, heal some injuries, and increase strength, though it comes with the prize of hubris and sometimes madness. To counteract this some form out mind-altering magic must be administrated at the same time. Another side effect for humans is the ability to understand and speak the All-speak, the universal language. 

The Freeze Machine: Former Hydra mind-washing tool, renamed by Tony Stark. Helps Loki heal faster. Can also be used for emergency medical suspended animation. 

Tanngnorst and Tanngrisner: Two smaller ships made for transport and exploring. Built by Reed Richards, named after Thor's childhood racing goats. 

The Mind Stone: an Infinity Stone, formerly used by Loki during the Battle of New York. Semi-sentient. Has the ability to control minds. Is attached to a golden staff made of dark magic. Can be used to counteract the maddening effects of Idun's potion. 

"Rocket's power source": A device stolen (rescued!) by Rocket (see below) and fenced (sold!) to Tony Stark for a million units. He says it's a very powerful eternal battery of some kind, but JARVIS's scans has showed differently. 

 

 

Our Players:

**Loki**  
Frost giant in Asgardian skin. Adopted brother of Thor. Was tortured and forced to attack Earth. 

Powerful magician, though held back by former serious injuries and psychological... difficulties. Has a tendency not to consider his own wellbeing when preforming dangerous magic. He has used the Mind Stone to trick his body into thinking that he is well. 

He doesn't like to be touched, never has, and has no sexual desires. He is in love with Anthony Stark, but is constantly worried that he can't satisfy him. 

Has ability to give a Moment of Clarity, a spell that gives the receiver either emotional or intellectual insight. Has given his friends (for more details see below) a drop of Idrun's potion that has helped them with some medical problems and prolonged their lives with about fifty years. 

 

**Tony Stark**   
Iron Man. Has one suit he calls Sixty-Nine. 

Billionaire even in outer space. Genius, commander of totally awesome spaceship, and slightly sexually frustrated life partner of Loki. Copes by engineering the shit out of things, exercising, and making a lot of suggestive comments. 

Suffers from occasional PTSD. Peeved over that time is relative in space, and that nobody 'remembered' to pack alcohol. 

 

**Steve Rogers**  
Super Soldier. Ninety-five years old, but doesn't look a day over twenty-five because he was a frozen capsicle for seventy years. Formerly Captain America, is still called nicknamed 'Captain'. 

Head of Ship Security and responsible for the Gym. He is also part of the cooking and cleaning rotations. 

Has reunited with his childhood friend Bucky, they are now lovers. 

 

**James 'Bucky' Barnes**  
Former brainwashed Winter Soldier of Hydra. Got his memories restored by Loki. Was during seventy years periodically frozen and made to assassinate people. 

Lost entire left arm due to a bad Hydra copy of super soldier serum. Has a new super-powered prosthetic metal-arm made by Tony and Bruce. 

He shares Steve's duties as his right hand man, lover, and enabler. 

Low key super-fan of Tolkien. 

 

**Natasha Romanoff**  
Black Widow. Former master spy. Married to Clint Barton. 

Was trained as child assassin in Soviet Russia, later a top agent of SHEILD. 

Her designation, when not on maternity leave, is Third Seat Pilot. She is also part of the cooking and cleaning rotations. 

Had her 'tubes tied' (to say it gently) as young, was later also shot in the uterus during a mission. Unbeknownst to her at the time, Loki healed her (at least temporarily) so she became pregnant with Clint's child. 

She has not been given her Idrun's potion yet, since it could be potentially harmful for the unborn child. (See below)

**Clint Barton**  
Hawkeye. Former circus archer, cat burglar, and top agent of SHEILD. Married to Natasha Romanoff. 

Because of a unforeseen combination of Idrun's potion and a Moment of Clarity his sense of taste and smell has been heightened. This sometimes gives him a tendency to overeat. He has had some practice with restraint and is now a better cook for it. 

He is the Forth Seat Pilot. Often shares his cooking rotation with Thor to teach him how to cook. 

Has given his unborn child the nickname 'Pumpkin'.

 

**Bruce Banner**  
Sometimes when angry, too excited or stressed turns into a big green giant called Hulk. Hulk is thrice his size and has half his intelligence. 

Head of Science onboard the ship. Expert in radiation. 

After a Moment of Clarity he accepted his loneliness in being one of a kind. After another Clarity combined with Idun's potion he has difficulties reverting back to his human form even when relaxed. 

In a relationship with Darcy Lewis. Is worried about being eighteen years older than her, and the fact that they can't have sex without the risk of him Hulking out. 

 

**Darcy Lewis**  
Self-appointed morality officer and editor of the ship newsletter. 

Was despite her young age diagnosed with cancer, though she was later cured (first without knowing) by Idun's potion. She has gotten two Moments of Clarity, both gave emotional insights. 

In a relationship with with Bruce Banner. She doesn't care about the age difference and have plans testing out tantric sex. She likes it when Hulk calls her a pretty girl. 

 

**Thor**  
Crown prince of Asgard. Working in the aid of the Rotation Of Chores. 

his mighty hammer Mjölner he's the only one who can leave the ship and travel far distances by himself. He brought the Guardians of the Galaxy when the ship was stranded after Loki magically moved it because of misdirected impatience. 

In a relationship with Jane Foster and father of the twins she is carrying. 

Enjoys spending this time adventuring with his friends before asserting the throne. 

 

**Jane Foster**  
Astrophysicist genius. Navigator currently on maternity leave. 

Pregnant with Thor's twins. Suffers from preeclampsia (pregnancy-poisoning). Also, since she's a very petit person with two big Asgardian babies inside her, she has problems moving around and is currently mostly confined to her bed. 

Has not been given Idun's potion, not because it would hurt her children (who are Asgardian and wouldn't be harmed by it), but because the delivery is expected to be very difficult. 

Fan of Star Wars. 

 

**Phil Coulson**  
Former Director of SHEILD, currently responsible for inventory, provisions, and the conservatory.

Was stabbed and killed by Loki during the Battle of New York, was later brought back to life through dubiously ethic methods by the use of alien DNA. This DNA was later identified as Kree. 

Loki has healed the scars both from his own attack and that of the DNA treatment to the best of his ability. Phil still suffers some discomfort but his pain has definitely subsidised. 

 

**Maria Hill**  
Former top-agent of SHEILD. She is Heidrun's first pilot and responsible for the Bridge. 

She is a very private and disciplined person. She prefers to be addressed as 'Hill' rather than 'Maria'. 

Hill has a open love-interest in the Guardian Gamora. They regularly exchange messages when not together. 

 

**Jemma Simmons**  
Biological- and technical engineer, former SHEILD. 

Mostly concentrates on research concerning medicine, biology, and gardening. Helps Phil Coulson in the conservatory and has developed several new kinds of fertiliser. 

Best friend with Leo Fitz. Dating Sam Wilson.

Big fan of Star Trek, and is Tony's 'favourite underling' for it. 

 

**Sam Wilson**  
Aka Falcon. Former Tech-Sergeant in the US Airforce. Second Pilot aboard Heidrun. 

Thanks to his experience as a support group leader he has been assigned to keep an eye on the psychological health onboard. 

Is in possession of a pair of personalised mechanical wings (Stark design). 

Good friend of Steve Rogers. Has recently started dating Jemma Simmons. 

 

**Leo Fitz**  
Electro- and mechanic engineer. Former SHEILD. 

Back on a mission on Earth he suffered oxygen deprivation. The speech centre of his brain was damaged, leaving him with a stammer and difficulties with word-association. When given Idun's potion he has an easier time finding his words but still stammers from time to time. 

Conducts minor repairs and maintenance onboard. Likes to invent work-saving machines and non-harmful weapons. Has a set of seven small flying surveillance bots called 'the dwarves'. 

He enjoys Stargate. 

 

**Rupert Kingsley**  
Aka The Surgeon (see chapter notes). The ship's medical doctor. 

A highly skilled medical professional, an expert in medical and biological chemistry. Enjoys gardening. 

Was as a younger man he was involved in a bad fire that left his entire body badly scared. He hides his face and hands behind expertly wrapped bandages. Loki's magic and Idun's potion has helped him with pain relief, but his scars are sadly too severe and old to be affected. 

Doesn't like his first name and never uses it. He is a very private person and enjoys his own company. 

 

**Cow**  
Bruce's pet dog. Former stray from Brasil. 

Was adopted by Bruce while in hiding but had to be left behind, later found and brought to America by Tony. His name is a mispronunciation of the Portuguese word for 'dog'.

Likes walks around the ship, playing fetch with the bots in the loading bay, and snuggles. Has been given Idun's potion for prolonged life, no side effects, so far. 

 

**JARVIS**  
Artificial Intelligence created by Tony Stark. 

Developed a self-awareness by himself, but was aided in some of his 'emotional' and 'adaptive' development by Loki's Moments of Clarity. 

Because he is in-organic he can not be given Idun's potion, but he has been installed with a universal translator given by the Guardians of the Galaxy. 

JARVIS has access to everything on the ship, including security cameras that are switched off for privacy. 

 

**Dummy, Butterfingers, and You**  
Tony Stark's robots. Aka 'the bots'. 

Are self-aware through their connection to JARVIS, though still mostly dependent on their programming. 

Dummy was given an emotional Moment of Clarity which has made him slightly more childlike in curiosity and determination. He has shared this with his 'brothers', but since it's second hand they are more literal when braking emotional information down. 

Butterfingers and You love to share off-grid repeating gossip loops where the churn more or less the same information over and over again. 

 

**Ronan the Kree**  
Former Accuser of the High Order of Hala.

Declared officially dead by the Galactic Council, a decision that can't be revoked. 

Was presumed killed during a earlier run-in with the Guardians of the Galaxy, but since he was 'infected' with the force of the Power Infinity Stone he survived. Was given an unmarked funeral by sending his body into the nearest star in a simple emergency escape ship. The ship was accidentally caught in several slipstreams and eventually brought to Heidrun. 

Has a missing part of his brain, a literal hole inside his head, made by the Power Stone. Due to this he has lost his long term memory. 

Is currently working the chores-rotation instead of Jane and sometimes filling in for Natasha. Hopes to show by hard honest work that he is not the same person anymore that people remember him to be, and by 'people' he means Peter Quill. 

 

**Peter Quill**  
Member of Guardians of the Galaxy. Calls himself Star-Lord. 

Was abducted from Earth at the age of nine by alien pirates. Grew up with his kidnappers, later became self-employed adventurer before joining up with the other Guardians (though that's a totally different story that I'm sure you can find out for yourselves).

 

**Rocket Raccoon**  
Member of the Guardians of the Galaxy. 

A genetically modified raccoon (though he does not himself know of this species). Genius with mechanics and building weapons and bombs. Has loose morals but has his heart in the right place. 

Best friends with Groot. 

 

**Gamora**  
Member of Guardians of the Galaxy. 

Former adopted daughter of Thanos and henchman of Ronan, renounced both. 

Infamous deathly assassin and badass.

Has a soft spot for Maria Hill. 

 

**Drax**  
The Destroyer. Member of Guardians of the Galaxy. 

Does not understand metaphors and often chooses action before reason. Very strong. 

Accepts Ronan's death. 

 

**Groot**  
Member of the Guardians of the Galaxy. 

Tree-creature. Very tall and strong. 

Was recently grown back to full strength thanks to the soil and fertiliser aboard Heidrun. 

"I am Groot," is his only vocabulary. 

 

Also **Thanos** Really Big Bad Guy. Former tormenter of Loki, former master of Ronan, and former adoptive father of Gamora. 

And **Nova Corp** which is in very simple terms a kind of Intergalactic Police Force.


	2. Turning on ceremony.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> First real chapter of this instalment. Hope you enjoy. I got a real nail biter planned for this one, or at least I hope so.

"Damn it Barton! Come on!"

"I can't," Clint moaned. "You go on without me. Tell Nat and Pumpkin I love them."

"What about me?" Tony walked over to hunch down by the quivering archer's bedside. "Don't you love me?"

Clint glared at him, only with one eye though since half his face was pressed into the pillow. Tony ironically fluttered his eyelashes. Clint closed his eye and turned away. 

"Fuck you. I'm in real pain here."

"You're in real _psychosomatic_ pain, dude," Tony stood up and dusted off his knees. "All I'm saying if you really loved me you should come and celebrate my moment of glory."

"You of all people should respect psychosomatic pain," Clint grunted as he made an effort to sit up in his bed. "And 'moment of glory'? Please. You have done this hundreds of times before, you don't need an audience."

"Don't tell me what I don't need," Tony took Clint's arm and pulled. "I'm Tony Stark, I always need an audience. Come on, man. Nat says you're faking your imaginary-pregnancy symptoms for sympathy anyway."

"That bitch," Clint groaned as he let himself be dragged to his feet. "She's the one who did this to me. How come she painlessly gets skip through the fourth trimester like a glowing goddess and I'm stuck with the cramps and vomiting?"

"She's not only a bitch, but a witch as well?" 

Tony smirked as he held out a big black hoodie for Clint to pull over his bare, slightly rounded, but still quite muscular, torso. The guy had gained a little weight since they left Earth but definitely not in a bad way. 

"Stop ogling me," Clint grabbed the hoodie. "I'm not going to play a part in your dirty sex fantasies."

"Too late, I already have you sandwiched between Steve and Bucky in my head. Now come on before I throw Thor and Ronan in there as well. I have great imagination and I'm not afraid to use it."

"Fucking pervert." 

Clint roughly pushed him aside and stomped out of the bedroom. Tony followed with a smirk. They headed for the elevator. 

Inside Clint leaned back against the wall and took a few deep breaths. He did look a bit feverish and Tony felt a small sting of conscience. He hid it by ignoring it. 

"You think I'm joking about the witch-thing," Clint looked at him. "But Nat and Loki are almost glued at the hip these days. She could have convinced him to do some magic pain-transfer or something."

"I want to be glued to Loki's hip too," sighed Tony. 

The elevator doors opened on the loading bay. The big launch door was open, angling down to make a ramp down to the ground. The ground of the flicking _alien planet_ that they had made their temporary home for the last cycle. 

It had taken them eighty-four cycles to get there. That wasn't a bad traveling time for a distance of of almost four light years. 

The planet had good oxygen, was about the size of Mars, and its gravity about an eighth of Earth's. It was nearly perfect conditions for constructing the last stages of a very efficient arc reactor. 

It still felt a bit wobbly walking around outside. Kingsley had recommended an extra hour exercise per cycle to counteract any muscle- or bone-loss to their insufficient Earth-gravity evolved bodies. Because not everyone could be like Loki, Thor, and Ronan whose bodies really didn't give a fuck what kind of gravity they were in. 

'Cycle' in this case was of course referring to a Heidrun cycle, about twenty five hours. The planet they were on had a rotation time of about thirty hours, which Tony found very confusing and irritating. But he wasn't going to think about that since he was still pissed about missing Christmas. 

He had taken to wearing his Iron Man boots outside, it helped him with adjusting and keeping his balance. Also, he could fly. 

Yes, flying. Finally! Not just floating in space. He and Sam had already set several speed records while 'securing' the area around the ship. Low gravity flying was totally awesome. 

The planet was quite like Earth in the way of landscape. There were ice at the poles, jungles around the equator, and in between there were woodlands, seas, lakes, moors, and mountains. The Heidrun had landed in a slightly tropical area. The place seemed uninhabited. 

Well, there were some animals around, but none seemed intelligent enough to rise to a structured society building level. So far the closest thing to intelligence Tony had seen was a small purple long-tailed monkey-creature using a stick to poke bugs out of a rotten tree trunk to eat. He admitted that was pretty smart. 

He now wanted a monkey-creature. Loki had said no 

Peter Quill had told them that there used to be some colonising farmers in the northern hemisphere, but they had moved on when most of their children decided that they didn't want to carry on with the family business. Some cattle had apparently been left behind and gone native. 

Neither Tony nor Sam had seen any evidence of this story in their air surveillance. They were probably too far south. 

They were not going to stay on the planet, of course. The gravity and far isolation would definitely to get to them in the long run. Also, Space and the ever moving Final Frontier was beckoning them to go find it. 

They had decided on staying for about ten cycles. It was enough to explore the area for potential supplies and for the last and final adjustments to the engines. 

It was also within the timespan of Jane and Nat giving birth. Both of them were ready to pop. Especially Jane who looked like she had swallowed a giant watermelon and then had a severe allergic reaction to it. She had been forced to bed rest for the entire last leg of the journey. Her caesarian was already being carefully planned. 

Nat on the other hand was, as Clint had said, indeed skipping. Literally. She was currently testing how the lower gravity affected her ninja movements. Loki was standing next to her looking like a tired but amused father of a energetic child. 

Loki smiled at Tony when their eyes met. He had spent five cycles in the Freeze Machine and was now, according to himself, fully restored. Tony didn't believe him for one moment, but it was nice to pretend. 

They had done some really nice pretending lately. 

Everyone was there except for Jane and Kingsley who were watching from the Med-bay through Dummy's camera. Thor, who had been thrown out of the Med-bay for 'overbearing hovering', was standing close to the ship's entrance. He didn't look too good himself, but it was doubtful it was for the same reasons as Clint. 

"Ladies and gentlemen," Tony clapped his hands together for attention. "Welcome to the ignition of the arc reactor. And to all of the who thought I was going to say 'turn on', shame on you. Prepare to be amazed to gaze into your future!"

Everyone just dully stared at him. Except for Clint who had his eyes closed, Steve who was looking up towards slightly teal-coloured sky, and Jemma and Sam who were looking lovey-dovey at each other. Dracy was looking at her phone, though Tony was fairly sure she was editing a picture she'd just taken of him. Nat made a bored grimace. Loki mostly seemed like he disapproved Tony's choice of clothes. 

Oil-stained overalls with the arms tied around his waist and a ripped Van Halen t-shirt might not have been the best choice, but he was among friends. Steve was wearing yoga pants for fuck's sake. Bruce had a knitted pullover! And Fitz too, where was this new world coming to? At least Coulson was wearing a tie. 

Also, who onboard was knitting? Had yarn even been on the cargo manifest? Nobody told Tony anything around here. It had taken over ten cycles before Bruce and Loki had told him what he really had bought from Rocket.

Also, again, Tony really needed a new audience, some people who actually listened to his bullshit. Were were the not yet jaded Guardians when you needed them? Delayed fighting giant space-monsters there's were. No, Tony wasn't irritated or jealous. 

"And the monkey flips the switch!" yelled Clint in a voice that told he'd rather go back to bed and can we please hurry this fucking thing up thank you very much. 

Ungrateful bastard! Tony had dragged the guy all the way out here against his will and now he was acting like he didn't wanted to be there. How dared he call out lines from a movie that never ever could live up to its excellent cult predecessor sixties-TV series? Danger, Clint Barton, danger. 

Tony noticed to his surprise that Ronan twitched the left corner of his mouth at Clint's comment. Was it funny because he had found out Terrans descended from monkeys, or had someone actually showed him the Lost In Space movie? If the latter, then someone was really starting at the wrong end of the stick on the Kree's cultural education. 

"It's not a switch, for your information," huffed Tony. "It's a button. Bruce made it so show some respect."

"Tony," sighed Bruce. 

"Fine," Tony pushed the button. "Ladies and gentlemen, I give you the Arc Accelerator!"

Tony was great at naming things. 

"With this baby we will increase efficiency with almost fifty percent..."

"After testing," supplied Bruce. 

"...after testing," said Tony. "Yes?"

He pointed to Coulson who had raised his hand. It was a bit nostalgic since it reminded him of a press conference. He hadn't had one of those for over six months, Earth months. 

"How is that even physically possible? Won't matter start to disintegrate at such speeds?"  
_  
Look at the little amateur physicist,_ thought Tony proudly. _They grow up so fast._

"Hence the testing," said Bruce. "Extensive testing. That is, as we discussed before, partly the reason why we came to this planet rather than going to more populated areas. We need gravity for both for construction and for final tests. And also to keep away from prying eyes when we might be at our most exposed and vulnerable."

"Also," interjected Leo. "Th-that is just a theoretical number. Even if we have the capability, we won't really need to go at th-that fast since we already are in reasonable di-di-distance from the populated areas."

 _Way to point out Tjechov's gun there, you stammering buzzkill._

"Loki will be able to help us a bit magically," Tony continued. "And Bruce also have a trick up his sleeve that might help us."

There was the 'Codename: Voldemort'-plan. Rocket's battery. _The thing that must not be named._ Bruce, JARVIS, Jemma and Loki were on that comity. Tony had a gag-order not to tell anyone about it. It was just his two best friends, his favourite protégé, and his boyfriend having a secret club together, what was there to be jealous about? 

So the four of them had formed some sort of a secret club around an awsome magic thing, what did he care? He had the Mind Stone, though he had been cautioned severely not to go near that one either. Which was, by the he way, totally not fair. 

"That's only for extreme emergencies," said Bruce with an irritated glance, not happy withTony talking openly about it. 

"I know, but it's nice for the crew to know we have plans for extreme emergencies. Makes them feel safe. We're not SHEILD, we actually confide within our group."

"Tony..." sighed Bruce, rubbing his eyes under his glasses. 

The last three months had been Hulk-free, it would probably be good if they could stay that way. 

"Are we finished here?" asked Loki. "I have other things to do that involves not being here."

"Is it anything sexy?"

"No, but you can still watch if you want to."

"Alright," Tony dusted off his hands. "Class dismissed. Everyone's excused."

The sun was slowly, slowly setting behind the horizon. The star itself was about a quarter smaller than Earth's sun, but because of the planet's distance to it it looked about a quarter bigger. The green nuances of the atmosphere mixed with the blue light coming from the Arc Accelerator. Everyone suddenly looked very ill, Clint looked like he was dying. 

The only one looking good was Nat. The strange light did wonders for her red hair. 

"JARVIS?" asked Tony, dreading the answer. "How long until morning?"

"Ten hours and thirty-four minutes, sir," answered JARVIS through an outside speaker. "Two hours and nineteen minutes after HMT.

HMT meant 'Heidrun Morning Time', it was the average number of what times everyone had woken up on the day JARVIS had made the unsanctioned decision to go time-awol. There was, apart from Morning Time also Zenit, Evening, and Sleep. JARVIS wasn't as good at naming things like Tony. 

"It doesn't matter for us," said Steve. "We'll leave after breakfast."

Steve had taken it upon himself to be in charge of his own entertainment for those who were not busy doing science or gestating babies (real or psychosomatic ones). They had divided into two teams, each would take one of the smaller ships and then go exploring the planet. After a few hours they would return and compare discoveries. 

It was a cute game. And it combined business with pleasure. If they found any of the legendary forgotten cattle they might even get to eat fresh meat again instead of the canned or dried stuff.. 

Steve, Bucky, Sam, and Ronan was one team, Hill, Coulson, Darcy, and Cow the other. 

It was good they kept themselves entertained. It kept them out of Tony's hair. Though he worried slightly that none of them would actually have the guts to kill and butcher an animal, even for food. Hill, maybe, but could she tell a prime steak from dog food? 

His small audience was scattering. Nat was leading Clint back to the ship, Steve and Bucky were probably going to have sex somewhere where they could see the sunset. 

"This thing is really giving out a lot of radiation," said Bruce looking down at the levels his StarkPad. "We should build a containment field of some sort."

"It's just because it's outside," Tony looked at the numbers as well. "Once it's inside the ship it will be better contained. Hey, babe."

Loki was coming up to stand next to him, looking a bit disapproving. 

"You really should stop trying to drop your not so subtle hints about the new Stone, Anthony. You are only confusing the crew. Sooner or later someone will be curious enough to go looking for it and end up in a lot of trouble."

"Yeah, me!" Tony huffed. "I still don't understand why I have to be so out of the loop. It was my million credits that payed for it."

"And it was a bargain, my love, you did very good," Loki smiled. "I know people who would pay five billion for it."

That was news, Tony blinked. Couldn't someone had told him that sooner? That knowledge would certainly have helped in him bitching less about it. Loki looked him over and made another grimace. 

"Now, could I persuade you to have a shower and change your clothes? If you are going to join me while I work I prefer not to have that smell join us as well."

Tony could insert lame dirty joke about there in the conversation, but he knew it wouldn't go over well. Damn, he really needed a new audience. Loki gave him a look like he knew what he was thinking. 

Bruce continued ignoring them. 

"Perhaps we could make a reverse Faraday cage or something," he slowly pondered. "It would increase efficiency..."

"Bruce," Tony patted his friend's back. "The unused energy escaping the core is only about seven percent. The radiation is harmless and doesn't effect the environment, you made sure of that yourself. It only going to be outside over night to stabilise. It's fine."

"I know..." Bruce sighed but still didn't look happy. 

Luckily, Darcy had noticed her boyfriend's distress and came over to take the StarkPad gently from his hands. Bruce gave her an embarrassed smile. 

"Come on," she said, taking his hand and handing the pad over to Tony. "I found a great place to look at the sunset."

Bruce sighed as he let himself be led away towards the forest. 

"We're not spying on Steve and Bucky again are we?" 

Tony smirked, but wiped the smile off his face when he discovered Loki looking at him. 

"What?" he cleared his throat. " _I_ don't spy on Steve and Bucky." He cleared his throat again. "That much." And again. "Anymore."

Loki just rolled his eyes and kissed his cheek. 

"Better shave as well, dear," he smiled and shook his head, obviously because he thought Tony was too cute and not for any other reason. "I'll be in the Navigation room."

Tony watched him leave towards the entrance of the ship, he hated to see him go but loved to see him walk away. What's up with all of these cliches lately?

Since Jane was _slightly_ taken out of commission, Loki had taken over some of her duties in mapping and navigation. It was clear that he didn't enjoy it that much, especially since he had agreed to let Tony keep him company, but he still did a good job. 

Jane was still consulting from her bed, but her rampant hormones sometimes made it hard for her to concentrate. Poor girl, Tony thought. Poisoned by her own body while carrying two alien royalties in her belly. 

And the swelling had only gotten worse during the travel here... 

In her 'normal' state she was about twenty kilos lighter than him, now the tables were turned. Kingsley had said the babies weighed about four kilos, each. Everyone was on high alert round her. 

He shook himself out of the unpleasant thought. He was the commander, and he was responsible for everyone aboard, but there were things that should be left to nature and to skilled medical professionals. 

"Right," he said with a deep breath. "Shower."

As he walked he was joined by Ronan who was also on his way inside. The blue man had taken a page out of Bucky's dress sense and was mostly wearing black, except for a red undershirt poking out around his neck. His head was bald, even his eyebrows. Tony wondered if he shaved every morning. 

"How's it going?" asked Tony in way of conversation. 

"My headaches are getting better," said Ronan in a neutral voice. "So is my stomach."

"Yeah, baked beans isn't for everyone."

Big surprise: legumes only existed on Earth. Just think about it, a whole universe and only tiny little Earth had the ability to enjoy hummus and roasted peanuts. 

"Have we gotten word from the Guardians yet?" Ronan asked as they entered the elevator. 

"They are delayed fighting monsters."

"Oh."

Tony couldn't help but to smirk again. Ronan was lovesick for Peter Quill, and Peter had no idea. It was certainly going to be a shock when he found out, and Tony wouldn't miss it for the world, or rather, the galaxy.


	3. The calm before

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Some more build-up for you, I promise not to let you down too hard...
> 
> I'm afraid to humbly decline any beta-offers (and if any of my former betas read this I do apologise) but I have discovered that even though my grammar might suffer slightly from not having a beta, my stress levels and self-confidence are better for it. I try to read each chapter three times before publishing to correct mistakes, I'm sorry if anything slips through but English is not my first language. 
> 
> Now on with the show...

To say Loki was concerned was putting it very mildly. 

He had spent the night tossing and turning in strange unidentifiable dreams. Waking up wasn't making it easier either. Anthony seemed to have slept fine though and was prattling on about... Loki paused and listened for a moment... Himself, Anthony was prattling on about himself. 

Loki deposited his chatty human off in the kitchen with Banner, Romanoff, and Barton and then hurriedly left. He wasn't hungry, something else was pulling at him. 

It was difficult to say where the unsettling feeling of unease came from. It wasn't the Mind-Stone, Loki had gotten used to it's wordless whispers and wasn't even listening to it anymore. 

He walked the corridors of the ship, knowing that he looked for something that wasn't there. 

Eventually he ended up at Banner's laboratory. He wasn't surprised. 

The new Stone didn't affect him like the Mind-Stone did since he hadn't been possessed by it. It still had a word-less voice though. 

Because it was a Stone. Another damned Stone. Onboard Heidrun. Next to the people he had come to care so much for. 

When Loki first found out, after coming out from nearly five groggy cycles in the Freeze Machine, he had almost fainted again. After that he had spent an hour exerting himself by putting secret magical protections around Jane. 

Because this wasn't any Stone, not that any Stone was, but this was the Reality-Stone. The very same that was making up the so called Aether. The Aether once belonging to the Dark Elf who had stabbed Loki In the gut with a cursed blade and almost killed him. 

He felt a tinge of pain run through his scared abdominal tissues, inside and out. 

"You couldn't sleep either?" 

Loki turned to see Ronan standing next to him in the low-lit corridor. It was disturbing that he hadn't noticed the Kree's approach. 

"What are you doing here?" asked Loki. 

"I had a strange dream," Ronan looked him over and then to the door of the laboratory. 

Ronan had been possessed by a Stone as well, the Power-Stone, it had removed part of his brain. It had only been long term memory of events that had disappeared. But even without that part of brain the Kree was still pretty smart. Tactical- and emotional memory were both still there. 

Feelings and instincts without any definition or explanation, Loki did not envy Ronan. 

"I'm sure it was just a dream," Loki gave him one of his kindest smiles that didn't look insincere. "Shouldn't you go meet Captain Rogers?"

"Yes..." Ronan blinked as if waking up from a deep thought. "They must be waiting for me."

He seemed to hesitate again, but then gave Loki a nod and left. Loki watched him leave, feeling a bit uncomfortable. 

"Loki?" JARVIS interrupted his thoughts. "Doctor Foster has just woken up and seems agitated."

 

 

\--------------- 

 

Steve breathed in the moist morning air, it smelled like exotic flowers and wet dirt. He had already been up for nearly three hours, done his morning yoga, eaten breakfast, shook Bucky awake three times, and packed lunches for everyone on the two exploration teams.

He was standing on the edge of the open loading bay door that touched the ground. One step forward would bring him out of Heidrun's artificial gravity field and on to another planet. 

As a child he had often dreamt of going to the Moon. And now he was over four lightyears away from it. Strange how things worked out. 

In another life, without the Super-Serum he would probably died of consumption in his early thirties. In yet another life, with the serum, he could have married Peggy and lived the army-base life. He could have returned to being the army's dancing monkey, being deployed to Japan, Vietnam, North Korea, Russia...

"What are you thinking about?" asked a smooth voice in his ear. 

Steve leaned back into the solid man behind him and placed his hand on the metal arm that had snuck around his waist. 

"Things that never happened," he sighed as Bucky kissed his neck. "Things that were infinitely more possible happening than being here right now."

He shivered a little when Bucky's stubble scratched his skin. 

"There you go being all philosophical again," Bucky gave him a last squeeze and let go. "What have you packed for lunch?"

Steve laughed and turned around to face his best friend and boyfriend. 

"Corned beef stew, crackers, and canned peaches."

"Ugh," Bucky frowned. "I really hope we find those space cows soon."

Steve gave him a quick kiss to take away the frown before stepping away down to the ground. There was an immediate change in his weight distribution because of the gravity, but he was kind of used to it by now. 

"Phil gave me a list of supplies we should keep an eye out for. It's kind of like a scavenger hunt."

They were walking towards Tanngnorst and Tanngrisner. The two smaller ships were parked about two hundred meters away. Since both Clint and Natasha were indisposed Sam and Hill were taking over their roles as the ships' pilots.  
_  
'But don't expect any fancy flying,'_ Sam had said when asked. _'I'm an expert on my wings, but when it comes to starships I'm better on the big one than the small one.'_

Hill had basically said the same thing. She was hired to drive the giant obnoxious caravan, not the light motorcycle attached to its back. 

Darcy was standing outside Tanngnorst, the dog Cow at her side. She smiled as they came up to her. Steve repeated his silly comment about a scavenger hunt. 

"It is exactly like a scavenger hunt," she agreed with a big smile. "And our team's going to win."

"You're so going down," teased Bucky. "Steve, give me that list."

"Is everyone here?" Steve tried to look inside the ship as he handed over the piece of paper. 

"I'm here," said Sam coming out of the other ship. "Hill and Coulson are on their way, they're getting some more containers. Ronan's on his way too, he just messaged."

Steve looked back at Heidrun. Tony's big accelerator-thing was still outside, glowing blue and probably attracting a cluster of insects. 

"'Plants with roots like potatoes'?" read Bucky out loud from the list. "That's a lot of digging if we're going to check each plant."

"We need to find things with plenty of starch in them," explained Darcy pointing to some other things on the list. "Then we can make flour and make bread."

"Too much carbs are bad for you," Bucky continued criticality eying the list. 

"Can't we buy all this stuff on the next planet we go to?" Sam was also reading off the list over Bucky's metal shoulder. "They must have some form of equivalence to grocery stores out here."

"Probably," Darcy shrugged. "But where's the fun in that?" She grinned up at him. "My team is totally going to win. For the last few weeks I've been playing potato-hide-and-seek with Cow."

Cow gave a happy bark at the mention of his name, or perhaps at the word 'potato'. 

"Yes," Darcy leaned down to kiss Cow's furry head. "You are mummy's good little starch-finding doggy aren't you?"

Cow wagged his tail and licked her face. 

"That's cheating!" Bucky glared at the dog. "You knew the list beforehand."

"Well..." Darcy dried her face off with her sleeve. "I _am_ Phil's assistant, so duh."

Steve left them for their stupid argument and jogged, or rather leaped, back to Heidrun. Phil and Hill were coming out with several cases and boxes. Steve was about to help them carry when one of Tony's bots rolled down onto the ground. It was You, the youngest of 'the brothers'.

"What's going on?"

"Tony's idea," Phil patted the bot. "She's coming with us. She has a spectrum analyser, a chemical detector, and she's not as vulnerable as some of us more squishy humans."

You made a proud beeping sound. 

Steve laughed and patted the bot's claw-head. 

They helped load the boxes on to You and returned to the smaller ships. Bucky, Sam, and Darcy watched them curiously. Cow just yawned. 

"That's even more cheating!" said Bucky after the situation been explained. "They get the dog and the robot? What do we get?"

"More room to load an alien bovine if you find one?" smiled Hill. 

Ronan was walking towards them, he had stopped for a moment to look at the accelerator, but had then continued on. He seemed thoughtful, there was a small frown on his blue forehead. 

Steve and Ronan had bonded over episodes of 'M.A.S.H.' and 'The Man From UNCLE'. He was even teaching him about cooking and boxing. They were slowly becoming friends. Bucky also liked to train with Ronan for hand to hand combat, they were equal opponents. 

"Everything all right?" asked Steve. 

"Yes," Ronan gave a short nod. "I just had a strange dream."

"I get those too," Steve gave Ronan's blue arm a pat. "Usually about being frozen in ice in the most weirdest places."

He avoided Bucky's concerned look. 

"I think it's that thing," Ronan looked back at the glowing machinery again. "I didn't have these dreams before it was turned on."

"We haven't felt anything," said Bucky as he began unloading You. "Maybe it's a Kree sensitivity thing?"

They all looked to Coulson. He was the only other person there with Kree DNA in his system. At first the man looked surprised but then shook his head. 

"No bad dreams out of the ordinary," he said. 

Steve felt bad at this answer since it implied that Coulson did have ordinary bad dreams quite frequently. He patted Ronan's arm again. 

"Come on then, let's be off. We have a scavenger hunt to win."

"What is that?" asked Ronan curiously, probably enticed by the combination of the words. 

"Oh, young Padwan," smiled Darcy, hooking her elbow with his, even though she only could reach his lower arm, and pulled him away. "You have much to learn..."

Steve was momentarily standing alone with Bucky, except for You who was organising the sample boxes by size. 

"You didn't tell me about your bad dreams," Bucky shifted and took his hand. "Is it... I don't..." He took breath. "It's not because you don't want to worry me, right? Or because..."

"No!"

"...because you think because my nightmares might be worse and you think it's petty to tell me about yours?"

Steve blinked. He had actually kind of thought that. It was silly, but what was a slightly unpleasant dream about being immobile compared to a dream about doing bad things against your will? And after all, they were only dreams. They didn't really mean anything. 

Bucky sighed and gave Steve's short hair a loving rub. 

"You need to share these things with me, babe."

Steve choked on a surprised cough. 

" _'Babe'_?"

"Just testing," Bucky shrugged. "We should have nicknames for each other, shouldn't we? It's kinda sweet when Tony and Loki does it."

Steve could argue that 'Steve' and 'Bucky' were already nicknames, but he knew it wasn't what Bucky meant. He shifted uncomfortably. He had ever called Bucky anything other than 'Bucky', 'Buck', or on rare formal occasions 'James'.

"We don't have to..." Bucky shifted nervously. 

"No," Steve shook his head. "I want to too. We can try it out, for sure, but let's not use anything that Tony and Loki are using."

"So 'idiot', 'pervert' and 'foolish mortal' are also out?"

"Yes," Steve laughed. "Sorry."

"I'll come up with something."

 

\----------- 

"Look at him out there," sighed Jane. 

Loki looked up to look at Thor on the other side of the glass. The door between Kingsley's office, in which Thor currently was standing, and the observation room was closed. Thor gave a brave smile when he noticed their eyes on him. 

Loki huffed and motioned Thor with his hand to hurry up and leave. Thor hesitated for a moment, glanced at Jane, but then gave a short nod and left. 

"Good," Loki took a relived breath. 

If Thor had stayed Loki would had had to improvise a examination of Jane's swollen belly, and he didn't like to touch her more than necessary, her skin was warm and soft in the most unexpected places. 

He had gone to the Med-bay just to talk to Jane. Kingsley was still at breakfast, Thor hadn't been too hard to convince to go to his. 

"He's really worried," Jane turned to Loki. "Does he need to be?"

"I don't know," Loki gave an honest sigh. "But it's not what I wanted to talk to you about."

"I guessed so."

Her mind wasn't dulled even though her body was turning against her. 

"Yeah..." Loki sighed again. 

"So..." Jane was sitting up resting her arms on her belly. "It's the Aether isn't it?"

"You knew?" 

"I've felt _something_ for a while now, but I wasn't sure if it was just me. And tonight some of my old nightmares about it returned." 

Loki sat down on a chair placed next to the bed, it was quite comfortable. He had advocated for a long time not to let Jane know, but it was too late now. It would probably soon be too late for Ronan as well. He took a deep breath. 

"Rocket had it with him, he sold it to Anthony. Banner has it hidden in his laboratory. Only me, Banner, Simmons, and Anthony know about it."

"But Thor said that Asgard was keeping it safe..." Jane bit her lower lip. "He said they gave it to a trusted ally for storage since..." she looked even more worried. "Since it was too dangerous be too close to the Tesseract, the Space Stone, in the Asgardian vault."

"Yes," Loki nodded. "It's a big concern that we have two Stones onboard. But then again, it's actually the most unlikely place they ever could be, so in a way it's actually quite safe."

"I don't really understand that logic," she shook her head with an amused smile. "But I guess I can trust that you are right. But tonight..."

"Something changed," Loki nodded. 

They sat still for a moment, thinking. 

"Tony's machine," Jane said thoughtfully. "It's the only thing that's changed since yesterday."

"It's just an engine component," Loki shook his head. "I can't see how it could affect the Stone."

"Well..." she seemed lost in thought again. 

Loki was thinking as well. Mostly about the so called Arc Accelerator. Anthony had prattled on quite a bit about it but Loki had stopped listening after a while. He had just smiled at his mate's sweet enthusiasm and continued with his own work. 

Perhaps he should go out and make some magical tests on the machine. Loki had just assumed it was just a larger version of what Anthony had in his chest, and that thing was perfectly fine. 

"Maybe..." Jane used her fingers to draw her thoughts as an invisible calculation or diagram on her belly. "The reactor _is_ operating on a unique and artificially engineered substance. The Aerher is the Reality Stone, perhaps Tony's substance defies reality..."

"Now you are talking strange logic," Loki gave a small laugh. "But I will look into it."

They looked up as Thor returned in the other side of the glass. He was carrying a tray with some food for Jane. Kingsley was there as well, sipping on a green coffee cup. 

Loki stood up. 

"I'm glad you are taking it so well."

"Oh," she smiled bravely. "I'm totally freaked out. It's just that my nervous system that is too shot to react."

"Well," he smiled back as he walked to the door. "Perhaps that's a good thing at the moment. I'll be back when I know more."

He slipped wordlessly passed both Thor and Kingsley, out of the Med-bay. He continued down the corridor towards the elevator. 

It was probably time to fill Anthony in on what was going on, but it was best to talk to Banner first. 

"Loki," JARVIS interrupted his thoughts. "Agent Romanoff asks you to come to the Common room. She thinks she's having contractions."

"It's a bit too early," Loki stepped into the elevator. "Have you scanned her?"

"The results are inconclusive," JARVIS sounded a bit worried. "She's having some sort of muscle spasms, but I don't believe she's in labour."

Since Romanoff's reproductive system was partly held together by mostly magically healed tissue, it was possible that the scans weren't as reliable as they could be. Loki was still expecting her to have a normal human birth. 

When he reached the Common room Fitz and Simmons were there as well. Romanoff was laying on the sofa. Simmons was carefully feeling her stomach. Fitz looked very nervous. 

"I think it's false labour," said Simmons as she moved out of the way for Loki. "But I don't know. All babies I've delivered were rodents, and once kittens."

Loki nodded and reluctantly placed his hands on Romanoff's bare belly. She was wearing one of the red and black checkered 'lumberjack' shirts that Anthony had specially ordered in Thor's size before departing Earth, the lower part of the shirt was unbuttoned. 

Her skin was soft and warm, and full of pink stretch marks. Loki had emitted to mention that his own personal experience with births was also limited to animals. Horses and goats mostly. On Asgard such things were strictly for women, and anyway it wasn't exactly a thing that royal princes should seek out to learn. 

Also, it was visually disgusting and too much touching was involved for Loki's liking. 

Though he had taken part in some of the aftercare of mothers and children as a part of his basic medical training. Whatever else he now knew about it came from books, movies, and conversations with Kingsley. Even so, he knew that Simmons was correct. 

"False labour," he agreed with a nod, rubbing the sensation of Romanoff off his hands against his thighs. 

"I thought so too," Romanoff gave a small sigh of relief and covered herself with the shirt. "But it hurt more than I had thought it would. It's stupid. I'm trained to withstand pain, I shouldn't react like that."

"You are trained for pain," said Simmons in the tone of a wise woman. "But your baby isn't. That's why you reacted."

Romanoff gave her a thankful smile. 

"You two go on," she gave Simmons and Fitz a small waive. "Tony and Bruce are waiting for you. I'm fine."

The two young scientists left with a promise to look in on her later. 

"Where is Barton?" asked Loki, looking around. "Is he still ill?"

"He's better now," she shook her head fondly. "He's outside practicing with his bow, and later he's making lunch for everyone left aboard."

"He's a good boy," Loki smirked.

"I'm a lucky girl."

"I'll stay for a while," he moved over to one of the armchairs. "It's a good time as any to catch up on some of the television series that Anthony can't stop referring to. It drives me mad sometimes that I don't know what he's talking about."

It was only a half excuse to keep Romanoff company. It wasn't said, and she didn't show it, but he knew she was grateful for it. It was obvious that the false contraction had rattled her a little. 

Anthony's machine could hold for a while. If Jane's theory was correct and the substance defied reality then proximity to it would soon 'teach' the Stone that it was real... It sounded good in his head, he wasn't going to say it out loud to change that. 

"So..." He leaned back in the comfy chair. "How far along have we come on your movie list?"

She smiled like a content cat. 

" _Alien versus Preditor_ is next."

"The two actually meet?" Loki raised an eyebrow. "What's that like?"

"Horribly silly and really awesome at the same time."

Loki nodded thoughtfully as she asked JARVIS to turn on the movie. 

A few weeks ago he had asked Romanoff were she stood on the whole Star Trek/War/Gate issue that was dividing part of the ship's crew. She had taken neither side and instead introduced Loki to the 'Alien' and 'Predator' movies. 

He enjoyed both the monsters. Nothing quite like them existed in reality, but he could sometimes catch himself tense up if he heard anything rustle in the vents or behind the wall panels. 

With a sigh Loki leaned back in his chair. He was still feeling uneasy but it wasn't too hard to relax for the movie.


	4. The first storm

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Note 1: I'm so sorry.  
> Note 2: Chapter contains some technobabble and medical babble that is qualified guesswork on author's part.  
> Note 3: this is only the beginning...  
>  ~~Note 4: not sorry ~~~~~~

"Can we take it inside the engine room now?" 

"Don't you like the sunshine?" asked Tony adjusting his cool sunglasses, he hadn't had cause to wear them until now. 

He was watching Clint standing about two hundred meters away practicing among the trees. The archer had done the classic thing of setting up several empty tin cans as targets. Tony wondered how long Clint had been saving cans for this exact purpose. 

Jemma and Leo were also there, part audience, part target-placers, part science with a speedometer. They were making graphics. Tony thought he'd swing by later with his repulsers. 

"I like sunshine just fine," Bruce sighed from where he was laying on his back on the ground underneath the Arc Accelerator. "But it's not exactly laboratory conditions out here."

"And how are you planning to build solar power generators inside a lab?"

"I'm not going to comment on that more than to say that we are not building solar power generators."

"You might not be, but I'm always planning for something new and awesome."

"You better not be sitting around tanning and daydreaming about solar panels while I'm down here getting my clothes dirty."

Tony chose not to answer that one, mostly because he couldn't directly deny it. Bruce huffed and scooted out from under the Arc Accelerator. He looked warm and irritated. Not a a good combination. 

"Lemonade?" Tony held out a plastic glass. "It's from concentrate, but mixed on real fresh water."

Nobody had really doubted Loki's and Thor's, or science's, word for it, but it had come as a great relief that water actually was universal. They had been living on recycled and artificial water for a while now and this fresh stuff was heavenly. 

Sure, _some_ of them, that is to say 'the normal humans', would need to take a couple of supplements to avoid getting the runs. Though swallowing a small bitter pill from time to time was definitely worth the knowledge of knowing that your water hadn't gone through several chemical filters to get to you. 

"It would have been better with some vodka in it, but someone forgot to pack that. Or rather _someone_ told a certain magician to disappear all orders and hideaways."

"It was for your own good," said Bruce taking the offered glass and seating himself next to Tony in the sun. "But I'm genuinely impressed that you haven't set up your own moonshine factory by now."

"Don't you worry," Tony smirked. "I totally have. It's just not in full use yet since I didn't want to tole on our resources. But now when the long leg of the journey is over it might be time to put some real fire under the secret distillery."

"Hulk smash," Bruce smirked right back at him. 

"You're no fun at all." Tony emptied his stingless lemonade. "You are not welcome to my engagement party."

There was a pause. Only the sound of arrows hitting tin cans was heard. 

"Your what?"

"Nothing."

"Sir," JARVIS quipped from the closest outside speaker. "I'm detecting a vessel approaching from space."

Tony took a small breath of relief. 

"Is it the Guardians?"

"No, sir. Unidentified."

His relief disappeared.

\------------ 

 

"Good boy!" gushed Darcy as Cow dug up another spud-like root out of the ground. 

She awarded him with a half a hard biscuit. Cow made a happy sound and dashed away to find more things to get rewarded for. 

Darcy took her spade and continued the dog's digging. There were about a dozen tennis ball-sized spuds. They mostly resembled sweet potatoes, though of a pinker shade. You had already tested them in the portable lab and found them toxic-free and rich in carbohydrates. 

The soil was soft, almost black, and it smelled refreshing. They should take some of it with them for the conservatory. 

"How's it going?" Hill came up to Darcy's little hole in the ground. 

She was carrying a full basket of something that looked like big red cherries. Her lips were slightly more red than usual so obviously the fruit had been cleared for consumption. 

"Still haven't found any mushrooms," Darcy placed the spuds in the plastic container next to her. "It might be out of season, though."

"Mushrooms are tricky," Hill looked around like if a especially tricky mushroom was going to suddenly sneak up on her. "It's hard to tell the good from poisonous ones."

"Or the psychedelic ones."

"That would count as a poisonous one," she didn't look amused. 

"Of course," Darcy rolled her eyes. "That's what I meant. This whole situation is so awesome you don't need drugs. Not that I never tried it..."

Hill gave her a look. 

"Fine," Darcy sighed. "Once at a party when I was seventeen. I threw up in the pool and was never invited back."

"I didn't ask. Come on, it's time for lunch."

They took each a side of the plastic container with the spuds and carried it between them back to Tanngrisner. Hill had her basket in the other hand and was more evenly balanced than Darcy. It wasn't that heavy though. 

Phil was already there, taking notes of what they already found. He seemed to have taken a pause to smell a piece of bark. He looked up as the women approached. 

"It smells kind of like liquorice and cinnamon," he said thoughtfully putting the bark down in a plastic bag. "Maybe we can use it as a spice or something?"

The area they had been exploring for the last three hours was quite abundant in plant life, most of it seemingly edible. It was a bit strange that nobody has done a real effort of colonising the place. Quill's explanation about the younger generations of farmers being bored so far away from the more densely populated areas only made some sense. 

There had to be more reasons than that. Even young and bored people could recognise a good and cheep source of food when they saw it. Perhaps the profits for selling the food didn't cover the transportation fees. Profit margins were important for small businesses owners. (Darcy had taken a minor business- and economics course in college. There had been a cute boy, shut up.)

There didn't seem to be any big predators either, although it was possible that they were nocturnal. Darcy had found a small cleaned skeleton of what might could have been something like a rabbit. She had bagged it, for science, also, the small scull was kind of cool with it's crazy fangs. The tracks near the skeleton had been more similar to Cow's footprints than of a bear or a tiger. 

Speaking of Cow...

The dog was barking, Darcy could hear both anger and fear in the sound. 

Then there was a painful yelp.

 

\-------------

"Cap, no," said Sam

"Steve, don't," said Bucky. 

Ronan just stared at him like he thought Steve had lost his mind. 

"But look at it," Steve pleaded as the giant bison-like creature nuzzled his palm with it's soft nose. "It's so sweet and trusting."

The animal was about the size of a small elephant, had dark brown fur, and beautiful black eyes. Its horns were the the size and shape of a ram and its tongue was dark purple. Steve was mesmerised. 

"We can't kill it."

Steve knew he was unrealistic, and a hypocrite to boot. He wasn't a vegetarian, and he doubted that he could ever become one, but in this moment his so usually patient conscience was overwhelming him.

"Not this one."

"Where should we draw the line, Cap?" Sam sighed and motioned to the family herd of about twenty beasts grazing on the grasslands next to them. "I'm not feeling good about this either but we need to eat."

"I know..." Steve patted the giant head, the pelt was soft even if it was tangled with dirt and old leaves.

It wasn't the first time he had been confronted with regret when killing for food. During the war he and the Howling Commandos had often trapped rabbits and birds for food. Once they even shot a deer that lasted them through a snowed in week in the Alps. 

But those animals hadn't acted like this one. 

These beasts were docile, too docile. There didn't seem to be any predators around that were big enough to take them down, so they were fearless. They were like the dodos back on Earth, unknowingly walking straight into the arms of their extinction. 

"I can do it," gruffed Ronan. "Give me a knife."

"No!" Steve placed himself in Ronan's path, protecting the head of the beast with his own body. 

He could feel it's warm breath on his back. 

Bucky stepped in between them, his metal hand passively held up towards Ronan, placing the other hand around Steve's waist. 

"Perhaps we can leave the meat off the list this time around? Next time we go out we'll bring Tho. He's an very experienced hunter and is better at choosing the right one. I'm sure he'll know how to make use of the entire animal too, pelt and bones, so that nothing goes to waste."

"Yes," Steve nodded thankfully. "Let's do that."

It still didn't feel right, but it felt a bit better. Everything was so much easier with a skilled middleman between the animal and the burger. 

"Fine," Ronan shook his head, seemingly fed up with the subject. 

They left the grasslands and headed for the trees were they left their bags. The beast followed them curiously for a few steps but then turned away back to its herd. 

Bucky squeezed Steve's hand. 

"What we got?" he sighed before digging out their packed lunches from the bags, the corned beef actually didn't look that bad now. 

Sam took up the list from his pocket, he had made some extra notes on it. 

"A dozen of those things that looked like unripened apples," he pointed to a plastic container. "Nine different soil samples, the pink fruits Ronan recognised, the yellow berries, the thing that Steve thought looked like a cabbage, those white mushrooms, and the bouquet of flowers."

"Flowers?" Steve paused in his effort to bite into a hard cracker. 

"They're pretty," said Bucky. 

Ronan gave a hum of agreement. Steve and Sam exchanged a look. Neither said a word. 

"I think we still should get points for the animals..." Bucky bit down on a cracker. 

Steve was about to say something but there was suddenly the sound of a distant explosion. 

The heard of buffalo-beasts began stampeding, towards them. 

Not so unaware of danger as originally thought. 

 

\-------------

 

Another painful contraction riveted through Jane's body. Someone quite strong was kicking her from the inside. The twins clearly had no respect at all for carefully planned caesarians, neither of them seemed to want to wait for the set out time. 

"Thor!" breathed Jane. "Calm," she inhaled. "Down!" she exhaled. 

"I seem to be having difficulties to," Thor was clearly panicking. "I feel strangely lightheaded."

"I'm administering the anesthetisers now," Kingsley put a needle to Jane's arm. "You should feel a tingling sensation in your fingers and toes."

"Oh shit, this is so freaky," Jane took a few more deep rapid breaths. "Yeah, I feel it. It's like they are falling asleep."

Jane reached out for Thor's hand. It was shaking. 

"Ouch! Thor!"

There had been a small static shock, with accompanying miniature lightning, as their fingers met. Thor had immediately pulled away. 

"Sorry, I'm so sorry!"

"Maybe don't do that again," Kingsley checked the heart monitor that had made a strange sound at the sudden electrical emission. "I am totally capable of doing this without the machines but they are good to have around for reference."

He was preparing for surgery. A blue sheet with a hole was put over Jane's bare mountain of a belly. Red iodine was smeared over her skin. Thor seemed to have further trouble breathing. 

It was quite irritating since he was throwing Jane off the practiced rhythm her own breathing. The pain was totally gone now, but the uncomfortable pressure from inside her was still there. Her feet and hands were tingling with needles. And she really, really, needed to pee. 

"JARVIS?" Kingsley had shed the bandages on his hands and replaced them with white rubber gloves. "Have you called Loki? I will preferably need a nurse for this. Tell him to bring the potion as well."

"Yes, Doctor Kingsley."

Thor stopped halfway through an inhale and turned to the doctor. 

"The potion? Is it necessary? Is she in danger? What's wrong? Is there something wrong with her? The babies?"  
_  
Ladies and gentlemen, my boyfriend, the near two millennia old demigod, and father of my children._ Jane would have rolled her eyes if she didn't have them closed to fight a sudden oncoming dizziness from the anesthetiser. 

"It's for the healing process afterwards," Kingsley spoke in a very calm and patient voice that threatened to have Thor removed from the room by force. "Now calm down before you create another power surge."

"Doctor Kingsley," JARVIS said in a placating tone. "Loki is on his way, he just needs to ask Mr Stark for the key to the Mindstone's vault. He needs it to administer the potion."

"He's got five minutes... I'm doing the initial cut now."

Jane watched as Kingsley held up a scalpel to the light, it actually glistened. The bandage on his face was shadowing his eyes from her. It felt like she was watching a cheesy horror flick, only that she was the powerless big-breasted damsel in distress. 

She didn't really notice anything of the cut, it was like the sensation of a fingernail scratching over her skin. There was of course the psychological feeling that accompanied the sight of her stomach suddenly having a big open smile. What she did notice quite clearly, though, was Thor fainting. 

Thor fainted. Thor. _Fainted._

"What the fuck?" Jane seldom swore, but this was a very good time for it. 

Kingsley stood on his toes to look over Jane down to the floor on the other side of the bed. 

"He seemed to land okay," he turned back to the task at hand. "No need to worry. Let's continue. Is Loki on his way?"

"Doctor Kingsley," JARVIS sounded a bit hurried. "I regret to inform you that the ship is under attack."

 

\---------- 

 

"Awesome," said Leo lowering the binoculars. "Nine out of t-t-ten."

"Fuck," Clint shot off another arrow through a piece of bark pegged up on a branch, it brushed the edge. "The further away the target is, the gravity is really tricky to compensate for. I'm not hitting them straight on either, I have to really curve the shot."

He was feeling much better. No more fake baby messing with his body. It felt good to be outside. Fresh air was fresh air even if you were on a different planet. 

To be honest, he'd rather be with Nat right now, but his bow was the second best thing. He had been a bit worried when Jemma and Leo had told him about her false labour pains, but he also knew that Nat disliked mollycoddling. Anyway Loki was there. 

He didn't like that Nat was so dependent on the alien bastard. He wasn't jealous, but he didn't like it. Hopefully it would ware off after Pumpkin was born. Clint had had feverish nightmares about the two of them being BFF-girlfriends and painting each other's nails black. It had been horrible. 

Still, he had sent away a purple emoji heart to Nat on his Whisper and gotten a red heart back. It was indeed a highly complex and secret code between two master spies. 

The 'Whisper' was a small communicator. It had been gift from Tony, or rather a prototype that Tony wanted tested out. It was kind of like a texting walkie-talkie that worked completely outside JARVIS's system and was only able to connect with its own twin. Tony had said he had gotten the idea watching Butterfingers and You 'gossiping' offline to each other. It had a range of about five hundred meters. 

_"Precaution in case of robot uprising"_ Tony had said. _"Isn't that right, Jarv?_

 _"Yes, sir,"_ the computer had patiently sighed. 

Clint smirked at the memory. 

"Shall I put some cans over there?" Jemma pointed to a fallen old tree about two hundred meters away. "Is it too far?"

"Take it a bit further," Clint read the wind, there was a small breeze. "I'm going to beat this shit."

Jemma smiled and nodded. She took about six cans in her arms and jogged towards the target area. Leo had also walked over to collect some of the already fired arrows. Judging by his calculated movements he seemed to be counting the distance with the measure of his step. 

Clint turned around and looked over at the ship. Tony and Bruce seemed to be taking a break in their tinkering. They were drinking something out of plastic cups and laughing. It was almost time to go prepare lunch, he was slightly in the mood for pizza. There were a couple of cans of pineapple left...

"Ready!" called Jemma's voice. "How's this?"

Clint turned back. The empty canes were lined up on a low branch about three hundred meters away. They were quite small at this distance, but it would be fine. He observed the wind in Jemma's hair, the angle of the alien sun, and then jumped up and down on his toes a few times to get a better hold of the gravity. 

This would be the furthest distance yet under these new conditions. He would need to set a twist to the arrow, aim way over the target, angle the bow to compensate for the new stance of his hips. Piece of cake. 

He set an arrow to his bow and focused. Breathe... 

There was a sudden explosion behind his back, followed by a pressure wave, followed by the Hulk roaring. And then a painful scream. 

Where had the arrow gone?

 

\--------------- 

 

Tony took a strengthening breath as the Iron Man suit clenched around his body. It had come to him at a speed and he didn't have the correct underwear on. The face hub was kind enough to show him on a diagram of his body where the pain was most immediate, as if he wasn't very much aware of it himself. 

"Unidentified?" he asked as he disregarded the body scan and concentrated on the incoming signal. "What does that mean?"

"Tony?" Bruce shifted slightly. "I think we are going to have some guests..."

Three spaceships, about the size of Tanngnorst and Tanngrisner, was approaching them from above. They looked something like if a F-16 fighter jet had had a Star Wars make over and then decided to dress up fancy and go out dancing at a zombie-themed Halloween party. Yeah, Tony had no idea what that meant either...

Still, he powered up his weapons. Bruce growled ominously. 

"Sir," JARVIS said with a bit of urgency in his tone. "I have revived a communication for you to surrender your power source, or die."

"They want the Accelerator?"

"I told you it was giving out to much radiation being outside," Bruce breathed heavily. "Now look what happened."

"Tell them to go fuck themselves."

"I already have," JARVIS quipped. "Take cover!"

Next moment something not far from them exploded. The freaky ships were shooting at them. Hulk had taken most of the blast and he was really pissed. Tony had to literally hunker down not to be perceived as a first target for the green rage. 

Lucky for him, he was soon out of his altered friend's short attention span because two of the ships had landed and people with big guns were milling out. Not so lucky for them, Hulk was running towards them. 

"Countermeasures are online," JARVIS fired on the ship still in the air, it was hit but not badly damaged. "I'm indicating a bigger vessel above the atmosphere. It seems to be observing us."

Tony fired a repulser on one of the, well, 'roughians' he guessed was the word as any for their attackers. There were about twenty of them. They seemed to be a vast array humanoid species, bold punk fashion choices, and various degrees of personal hygiene.

Typical space pirates, almost stereotypical. Didn't the Universe have any imagination? Also, why were Tony and Hulk alone in this fight?

Tony looked around for Clint, Jemma, and Leo. He couldn't see any of them, probably hiding in the forest. 

Then he saw two roughians running up the open loading bay door into the ship. He fired after them, but he missed. Fuck! He couldn't leave the Arc Accelerator unguarded. 

"I see them, sir. They won't get far, the loading bay is sealed off from the rest of the ship."

"Where's Thor?" 

"He is currently unconscious, sir."

"He's _what_!?"

"He was under a lot of stress, sir."

"Join the club" Tony said as he placed himself heroically between the Arc Accelerator and three heavily armed, and severely aesthetically challenged, roughians coming towards him. 

This wasn't going to be pretty.


	5. More storm

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I have have a good plan to where this is going, though the plan to get out of it is more vague. I should probably work on that, but first...

Loki had been taken off guard to hear that they were under attack, but he couldn't say he was too surprised. It had been bound to happen sooner or later. The Avengers were trouble magnets even on other planets. 

At least he had gotten to finish the movie before the ruckus started. It had indeed been both terrible and awesome at the same time. He was reluctant to admit he knew some people reminding him of the Predator, the Alien as well but that was a different story. 

He had carried Romanoff to the Med-bay in his arms. For the sake of speed he had forcefully pushed aside his unease of touching her and she had swallowed her pride of being carried. The experience was difficult for the both of them and they were both very relived when they finally arrived to their destination, silently agreeing never to speak of it again. 

Romanoff went straight to Jane and started whispering encouragements. Jane was broadly smiling and silently crying at the same time. She also seemed slightly delirious, though that was perfectly understandable during the circumstances. 

The two babies were laying on the next bed wrapped up in towels. Both were alive and screaming very loudly. They were also still partly covered in goo, blood, and other things. It looked like Kingsley just had done a basic check that they were both in one piece and able to breathe by themselves before turning back to Jane. 

Loki immediately got to work. He quickly cleaned the babies off with magic and easily healed the cut in their umbilicals. Next he wrapped them in new towels and put a warm spell around them. They quieted down after that. Romanoff had relayed the whole event to Jane in a soft voice. 

It was a girl and a boy. Loki thought they looked like goblins. Very adorable goblins, yes, but still goblins. He couldn't see their eyes but the wet tufts of hair on their heads were blond. They were quite big for newborns, bigger than in the pictures in the books that he had read on the subject. It gave him even more sympathy to what Jane must have gone through. 

For a moment he was lost in just watching their crinkled faces, but a movement from one of the monitors in the wall reminded him of what was going on outside. 

Loki had probably spent too much time with the humans because he could only think of the term 'space-pirates' when he saw their attackers. If he had been himself he would have called them Marauders. He watched Iron Man protecting the Arc Accelerator against five of them and felt his heart take an extra beat. 

"I need to get out there," he said. "Where is Thor?"

"Look down," Kingsley huffed. 

Thor was on the floor. He didn't seem to be conscious. Loki exchanged a look with Romanoff for incredulousness and then another look with Jane to give sympathy. Kingsley was too busy to look at him. 

The surgeon was placing a strange plastic adhesive film over Jane's stomach. It covered her like a second skin, the red cut and the stitches of blue thread were clearly visible through it. 

"How is she?" 

"Actually..." Kingsley gave him a relived look. "She's doing perfectly fine. But it would be even better if we had some help."

"I have the potion with me," Loki handed the little boy to Romanoff who immediately brought the baby over to Jane for her to see. "But Anthony has the key to the Stone."

"Sir is quite busy at the moment," said JARVIS from the the speaker in the ceiling. "He would also appreciate your assistance." 

This was said in a very passive aggressive tone that Loki suspected was a perfect imitation of Anthony's own original request. Loki smiled despite himself. He wasn't that worried for his boyfriend's safety since he knew Anthony was a great warrior, but he still felt a bit of unease since he wasn't there to fight by his side. 

"And Thor as well," continued JARVIS. "There are two intruders in the loading bay. And though I have locked them out from the rest of the ship they are getting angry."

"In the loading bay?" Loki bit his lower lip. "I need to go through the loading bay to get to the Stone."

"And we don't have the key," noted Romanoff. 

Loki huffed and gave his adoptive brother a kick to the side, it only resulted in a low grunt. At least it meant that the oaf was coming to. 

"Get up you lazy lump," he hissed. "You got work to do."

Thor grunted again and rolled to his side. Loki considered giving him a magic jolt to really wake the idiot up, but it was a precarious spell to use while holding a newborn baby in his arms. 

Instead he kicked Thor's side again and then stepped over the cringing body to get to Jane. Thor gave some good swears that thankfully were far too advanced for the any of newborns in the room to comprehend, some of them even must have flown over the humans' heads. 

"How is Anthony?" Loki asked the computer, hoping that he didn't sound too concerned. "Is he holding up?"

"He is planning to move the Arc Accelerator inside to the engine room, through the hatch is at the top of the ship so nobody can reach it from the ground. He's also in a better position to defend it from there."

"He's lifting it on to the roof?" Kingsley asked in half-disbelief while looking over Jane's vitals. "That's going to be some fancy manoeuvring with that weight, even in this gravity. I don't think we are getting hold of that key anytime soon."

"Couldn't you do a Moment of Clarity?" Romanoff asked as she gently tried to find the best position to place the baby boy on Jane's chest. 

Jane was feebly trying to help the best she could but her movements were slightly restricted because of the anesthetisers and her dwindling physical strength. Loki considered her carefully. 

"She would get the side effects... It's impossible to tell her state of mind right now..."

"I'm fine," Jane breathed with tears running down her cheeks. "I'm just so happy..." 

"And I haven't given a Clarity since Ronan. He got an emotional one, so I need someone to step in between to get the intellectual one. And I'm not even sure if the every-other rule still applies since he's a Kree..."

"Do it," grunted Thor as he finally got to his knees. "Use the Clarity."

Loki looked at him and then to Jane again. Her bloated bare skin was a map of iodine, blood, and sweat. He felt slightly nauseous and looked away. The small bundle in his arms whined, reminding him that it was alive and probably hungry. 

He placed the girl on Jane's chest as well, Romanoff was there to steady her. The boy already seemed to be feeding. Loki looked away for the sake of propriety. 

"I'll take it," said Kingsley pulling the covers over Jane's lower body to give her at least a little modesty. "We need to act fast, and you need to get outside and help. If her side-effects are bad we can use the Stone later to fix it, right?"

Thor was now standing, slightly wobbly, but well on his way to complete recovery. Though it would clearly take a few moments for him to bring his wide-eyed focus away from the babies and onto the intruders in the loading bay. Loki sighed. 

"The Mind Stone is far too dangerous to use as a simple fix-it-all," Loki give a relenting sigh. "But you are right, time is against us. Take the bandages off your face, it works better skin to skin."

Kingsley nodded, he had already removed his gloves. Jane was making tired cooing noises as the babies took to her breasts. She seemed fine but clearly didn't have much strength left to stay awake. Romanoff was obviously holding back tears as she stroked her own belly. 

It had been a while since Loki had seen Kingsley's burn-scared face, he had forgotten that the man didn't have any ears. This wasn't going to be pleasant. 

\---------------

 

Clint was kneeling next to Jemma. She was unconscious. 

The arrow had gone through her shoulder and stopped. It didn't seem to have hit any bone since the point was just coming out her skin on the other side. 

How could this have happened? It was such a rookie mistake. He could blame the unaccustomed gravity, the curve shot, the wind, the distance, the what-ever... All in all, Hawkeye shouldn't have missed that shot. 

Hawkeye shouldn't have almost killed his friend. 

Hawkeye shouldn't feel his heart beating this fast. 

"Don't touch it," he breathed to Leo who had urgently scrambled over to them. "The arrow itself is putting pressure on the bleeding. It will hold for the moment."

Leo nodded, he had tears in his eyes but didn't seem to be panicking. 

Good, that made at least one of them. Clint took another calming breath. _Snap out of it._

They were hidden from the attackers behind some bushes, but it wouldn't take much for them to be discovered. From his advantage point Clint could see Hulk wrestle at least six people and Iron Man was doing his best to protect the arc-thingy. 

Clint mind was split in pieces as he contemplated the situation. Part of him was yelling because his carelessness in hitting Jemma, part of him was angry for not taking any of his pimped-out arrows with him outside for practice. Another part went to Nat onboard the ship... _Concentrate!_

Since they didn't have any communicators with them they couldn't get in contact with JARVIS and call for backup. They were close enough to the ship for the computer to hear if they shouted, but in the current situation that was not a good idea. Jemma's and Leo's StarkPads were connected to the network, but both tablets seemed to had gone missing in action. 

Clint took up the Whisper and wrote a quick situation report to Nat for her to relay. He ended it with a purple heart emoji. 

"I'm going to try to distract them," he said to Leo with faked confidence. "Pull her into the denser cover over there and hide. When the path is clear, run towards the ship."

"I d-don't know i-if I can carry her that far."

"Then just hide really good and wait for help."

They locked eyes for a moment, Leo gave a miniature nod. 

"Good luck," Clint patted his shoulder and hurried away. 

He spotted a group of four attackers that had gotten passed Hulk and now were running towards the slowly closing loading bay doors. 

The first arrow he shot off missed, so did the next one. His hands were shaking. An image of Jemma bleeding flashed before his eyes. _Get a grip of yourself! It's not the first time you shot a friendly by mistake. Great timing, yes, let's revisit that bag of worms..._

Though the arrows missed they had done their job to distract. The attackers were now aware that someone was shooting at them. On the other hand it also made them aware of that person was Clint. 

He had to jump behind one of the landing gears to escape being really badly shot at. Flares of yellow and blue rained around him as the machinery was hit, Tony was not going to be happy with him. 

Nat hadn't answered on the Whisper yet, Clint tried not to think of reasons why. He calmed himself with the thought that she could kick ass, even in her current state, and that both Thor and Loki was with her onboard. 

Clint put another arrow to the bow and made a quick shot around the corner without really looking before pulling back again. It was hard to tell but he thoughtx he had hit something since there wasn't as much flares coming at him this second time around. 

He had three arrows left, three _practice_ arrows. 

"This isn't going to work..." he breathed as he chanced another shot. 

The arrow didn't miss. Probably because his six foot tall, teal skinned, heavily armed opponent was just around the corner and was hit point blank in the protective chest armour. 

The recoil was worse than the surprise. The bow made the strangest sound he'd ever heard, something like a cross between a broken guitar string and the snap of a whip. Clint almost made a backflip form the sheer force of it but was painfully stopped by the hard ground against his back. 

His attacker just looked down at him in disgust, some of it reflected in Clint's own mind. Then there was a very big alien space gun in his face. It had blinking green lights and smelled like sulphur and gasoline. 

"Now..." ginned teal-skin guy with big dirt-yellow teeth. "How's about you surrender before I fry you up?"

"How's about not?" said a familiar voice from behind teal-skin guy who's eyes widened at the sound. 

Next moment a blue hand had connected with the big guy's face. He wobbled. The big alien space gun fell on Clint's chest, knocking half the air out of him. 

"Oh," he heard teal-skin guy grin. "You want to fight, Kree?"

"Yeah," said Ronan. "That's my friend over there."

Clint blinked through some of his pain and confusion. Had Ronan just called him a friend? To his knowledge it was the first time he had heard about it. Teal-skin guy laughed. 

"I'll have you join him in a moment."

He charged at Ronan who bravely did the same. They were both of the same hight and build, and seemed equally matched in skill, which judging by the sound of the grunts was very upsetting to teal-skin guy. It would have been a cool fight to watch if Clint hadn't been busy catching his breath. 

He coughed and turned to his side. The heavy gun fell to the ground by his side. To Clint's dismay it seemed to have some kind of genetic lock so he couldn't use it. The best he could do was to was to get to his feet and hit teal-guy in the back of the head with it. 

It worked quite well, at least in making the guy dizzy enough for Ronan to give the final blow and take him out. Clint was just glad he could assist. 

Then Ronan hit the guy again, and again. 

"Don't kill him," Clint stopped the next blow. "We don't do that."

"Fine," Ronan huffed and let the unconscious bleeding teal-guy fall to the ground. "He wasn't worth it anyway."

"Did you just get back?" He checked his bow and his two last remaining arrows. 

"Yes."

Clint nodded. If Steve and Bucky were on the scene this ruckus would soon be over, they were a bit more organised than a raged out Hulk. 

"I wonder where Thor is," Clint looked back at the trees towards were he left Leo and Jemma. "He could have cleared this mess up in a minute."

As if on cue the loading bay doors opened and lowered the ramp to the ground, Clint and Ronan had to move to the side not be crushed under it. A couple of attackers that had been on their way towards them suddenly stopped in their tracks. 

Thor was coming down the ramp, Mjölner in one hand and dragging two knocked out men in the other. His face was like a ray of sunshine and he didn't seem to be able to stop smiling. He caught sight of Clint and Ronan. 

"My excellent friends!" he bellowed. "My sweet Lady Jane has bestowed upon me a daughter and a son! This is a time of celebration!" He turned ominously towards the attackers as his smile widened. "Bring on the revelry!"

"Uh-oh," Clint held up and arm to stop Ronan from going forward. "We might want to circle around this."

\------------------ 

Loki was yet again checking over the babies as he dressed them in better clothes than just towels. Fingers, twenty. Toes, twenty. Heads, two. Penis, one. His medical skills might only be of an experienced field-medic, but he knew how to count. 

Romanoff was sitting on the bed next to the babies. She was letting the girl hold on to her finger but her eyes were fixed on the monitors and the fight outside. She had received a message from Barton that Simmons was injured. 

Jane was sleeping. 

She had fallen asleep right after being given the Moment of Clarity to counteract the potion. It was impossible to tell what kind of side effects there would be. The Clarity usually enhanced the emotional status the person was feeling at the time. Loki made an educated guess that Jane would become a very overwhelming mother. 

"Are you sure?" Loki looked to Romanoff.

"Yes," she said reassuringly. "Go. I'll take care of them."

Loki wasn't that reassured, she looked pale, but he was needed outside the ship. And he was actually quite worried for Anthony. Anyway, even if Romanoff was the type of person that put on a hard exterior, she wasn't going hide any weakness that might be harmful to her own child. 

He looked down at the babies again. The boy was asleep and the girl was starring at the light coming from the ceiling. She had big blue eyes. Loki smiled. Being an uncle was already doing idiotic things to him. 

"Ready?" Kingsley asked. 

The surgeon had packed a few first aid kits in a bag. A belt attached with row of about twenty syringes were strapped around his waist. Loki refrained from asking what was in them. 

The Intellectual Clarity had given Kingsley some ideas for improvement on some chemical formulas, or at least that was what he had said. Loki doubted that the human had had time to mix something up, but he wouldn't find it impossible. 

It would certainly bring an element of surprise to his future patients. 

"Yes," Loki gave the baby boy a gentle pat. "I'm..." 

"Agent Romanoff," JARVIS suddenly spoke out. "I'm receiving a distress signal from the Tanngrisner. Agent Hill is reporting that they have been attacked as well. Miss Lewis is missing, and Cow is injured."


	6. The storm

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Big cliffhanger ahead.... Also, sorry.

Tony closed the top hatch over the Arc Accelerator. It wasn't the ideal place to store it but it was the best he could do for the moment. At least it would be out of reach for anyone that might want to grab it, or accidentally shoot it. It would also lower it's radiation output. 

He felt a little bad since it was probably the Arc Accelerator's radiation that had brought the pirates to them in the first place. On the other hand, if the Arc Accelerator was the reason space pirates were after them then it meant that the Arc Accelerator was awesome. And why wouldn't it be? It was Tony's invention after all. 

Tony Stark, awesome genius even in outer space. _Note to self: never say that out loud where Loki can hear you, or anyone else._

"Any sight of my boyfriend's sweet leather clad behind yet?" He asked JARVIS surveying the area around the ship. "He better have a good excuse for not being here."

"He's assisting Dr Kingsley with Dr Foster's natal aftercare, sir. And he is wearing slacks, sir."

Tony blinked. This was news. The thing about Jane, not the trousers. 

"Jane had her babies?"

"Yes, sir. A girl and a boy. Both look good on my scans and Dr Foster is recovering well."

Great, now there were _two newborns_ onboard the ship in a he middle of them being attacked. That didn't raise the stakes at all...

"Fine," Tony sighed. "I guess Loki's excused, for now. Is Thor still unconscious?"

Tony still couldn't believe that had happened. As soon as this shit was over he wanted pictures, and gifs. 

"He's coming to, sir." JARVIS supplied. "Though if you are looking for assistance Captain Rogers' team has just returned."

He smiled as he saw Tanngrisner approaching. The door was open and Steve was standing on the threshold with his shield on his arm. Bucky and Ronan were visible right behind him. 

"Oh those space pirates are in trouble now..."

"Sir, Agent Romanoff reports that Dr Simmons is injured, she needs an immediate evacuation. I searching for her coordinates."

"On my way."

Tony jumped off the ship, letting his boosters catch his fall. It wasn't as perfect as it could have been since the software was still calibrating for the planet's lower gravity. Though the only ones that were hurt in the process were three space pirates on the ground getting slightly scorched by the exhaust. No biggie. 

He did an extra lap around the landing site to check that his friends had things under control. Hulk was in the process of beating one of the alien ships to pieces with its own wing. The scientist in Tony cringed at the sight. 

A few of the pirates were firing at him but they were easily dealt with through some stunner-missiles. 

"Sir," JARVIS quipped in his ear. "I have located Dr Simmons' heat signature."

A blue circle came up on the hub, directing Tony towards a small gathering of bushes and trees on the edge of the forest. Jemma seemed to be hidden under the foliage. The sensor indicated a injury in her left shoulder. No one else was around. 

Tony landed. He wouldn't have much time before someone would figure out where he had touched ground. 

"Jemma?" he whispered as he pushed some of the branches away. 

"Leo..."

"It's Tony."

"No..." she croaked. "Leo... They took him..."

\------------ 

 

"Is this all of them?" asked Steve. 

"Yes, sir," Bucky gave him a salute. 

Steve only gave a small twitch before pretending to survey the prisoners. He wasn't sure if Bucky was stuck in a flashback or he was putting on a show of intimation. He took a hopeful chance on the latter and played along. 

"Headcount, soldier."

Steve really also hoped this wasn't their new pet names for each other. 

"Eight, sir."

The eight former attackers were sitting on the ground. Five men, two women, and one undetermined lizard person. Their hands and feet were tied. Loki had put a spell on them taking away their ability to speak. None of them seemed scared, just irritated and annoyed by their restraints. 

"I will confer with the commander," Steve gave the prisoners his best glare, which had improved quite well since him joining the Avengers. "You and Hill stand guard. Don't hesitate to use force if any if them act up."

Normally Steve wouldn't have added the last part, especially since he wasn't sure what mental state Bucky was in, but three people of their team had been abducted. Leniency could wait. Anyway, he trusted Hill to keep an eye out. She gave him a short nod. 

"And try to keep Hulk away from them," Steve added as an afterthought. "But if he's persistent, just give him one to play with."

That caused a bit of reaction. At the moment Hulk was out looking for Darcy. They could hear his roars in the distance. It wasn't going to be a picnic when he returned empty handed. 

Hill had a hard look on her face as she listened to the roar, perhaps it was Bucky who had to keep an eye out for her. She was gripping her rifle awfully hard. 

She and Phil had returned about twenty minutes earlier, bringing with them an injured dog, no robot, and news of Darcy's abduction. That's when Hulk had run off. Thor had followed him, but by the sound of distant thunder told he wasn't that happy either. 

Kingsley had taken care of Cow. Steve didn't know the prognosis but the dog's fur had been quite bloody. The sight of the injured dog had hardened Steve's heart a little bit more towards their attackers. He might have treated some of the prisoners rougher after that. 

He walked over to Tony, Loki, Phil, and Ronan who were having a small council next to the ship. Tony was still in his Iron Man suit but the helmet was retracted. Ronan was talking as Steve approached. 

"....then Hawkeye and I decided to circle around the Heidrun to get closer to the Marauders' remaining landing vessel. As we got closer Hawkeye spotted Doctor Fitz being carried aboard. He immediately ran towards them..."

"Did Fitz seem hurt?" asked Phil. 

"He had blood on his clothes, but that could be from Doctor Simmons."

Steve glanced over to where Jemma was sitting on the ramp to the loading bay. She was awake, though her eyes didn't seem to agree with that as they were starring into oblivion. Kingsley had needed to cut the shirt off her to get to the arrow. She was now bundled up in Thor's big red cape. 

Sam was sitting next to her, holding her hand between his. She leaned her head on his shoulder. 

"I followed him," continued Ronan. "But I was attacked and lost track of him. Next time I looked the ship was gone."

"They're quick," nodded Coulson. "We wouldn't even have noticed them taking Darcy if the dog hadn't barked."

"Well..." Steve sighed. "We got eight of their guys. They can have them all back for our three."

"It won't work," Loki shook his head. "The Marauders won't care about getting their men back if they know we have something more valuable to trade."

"The Arc Accelerator," Coulson breathed. "It's too dangerous. Can't we just pay them a ransom?"

"They haven't asked for any," said Tony. "JARVIS said that as soon as the smaller ships returned to the mothership it left orbit. I'm afraid this will be a rescue mission."

"What are we still doing here?" asked Steve. "We got to go after them!"

"It's not that easy," Tony took a deep breath. "Tanngnorst and Tanngrisner aren't equipped for that kind of space travel. We were planning to stay here for a couple of days, so Heidrun's mostly offline. Hulk and Thor is are awol. Coulson and Hill had to leave You behind in the wilderness. There's our new supplies we need to collect. We have injured. Not to mention, we have two newborns aboard."

Steve blinked. 

"We have?"

"Jane got her c-section. A boy and a girl."

"Oh," Steve looked to the ship as if he could see the babies through the layers of steel. 

This changed a few things, but it didn't change the fact that three of their friends were in danger. He shifted his stance, and wondered how much necessary force it would take to beat something out of the prisoners. Steve took a calming breath, he really hated this side of himself. 

"Estimated time to launch is at least ninety minutes," Tony sighed. "I don't understand why they won't ask for trade or ransom. Is is space pirate custom to hit, grab what you can, and run?"

"Sometimes," Loki shrugged. "I'm afraid I'm used to a higher class of criminals."

"Of course you are, babe." Tony gave Loki one of his loving smiles that made Steve feel a bit uncomfortable. "Speaking of babes... Does Nat know about Clint?"

"Not yet," Loki shook his head again, this time more slowly. "I should go tell her. But I think Kingsley should be present as well. We'll go soon as he is finished with the animal."

That wasn't going to be pretty. Nat was unpredictable at the best of times, but with her current condition she would be even more volatile than usual. 

"Okay," Steve felt that he needed to gather his thoughts. "How soon can we be off?"

"JARVIS is booting up the system as we speak," Tony let his helmet fold over his head so he could look at his hub, his voice changed as it now came out of speakers. "Sam can to go get You and the supplies. Steve, why don't you run after Hulk?"

Steve nodded. He looked around to locate the storm front. If he could find Thor he could find Hulk. The clouds were more heavy to the south. 

"What do we do with the prisoners?" 

"We have to leave them," said Phil. "We have neither room or resources to take them with us. Someone will come for them, eventually. Perhaps we can ask the Guardians to send that Nova Cooperation."

"Nova Corps," corrected Loki and glanced to Ronan. "Are we in contact with the Guardians?"

"JARVIS sent a message," Tony shrugged. "No answer yet."

Steve knew what that glance of Loki's had meant. Ronan might be officially dead but it might not be the best thing to let him get too close to his former enemies too soon. 

"I'll talk to Sam," said Coulson turning to walk towards the couple by the loading bay. "I'll stay with Jemma while he's away."

Steve nodded and patted Coulson's back as he left. They needed to be quick about this. He really hoped the Hulk wasn't that hard in convincing. Still, he should probably go onboard Heidrun and fetch the tranquilliser gun. 

He wasn't that happy about leaving the prisoners behind either. Not only because it was a bit cruel, but also because they would more than likely destroy this part of the planet to find food and shelter. 

He noticed Bucky looking at him with a raised eyebrow, he smiled. The side of Bucky's mouth twitched upwards in response. Steve felt much better after this. 

"Oh shit..." Tony gasped. "Loki, Med-bay. Now. Go now!"

Loki didn't even question him but immediately teleported away without any extra flair. 

"What?" Steve called as Tony started running towards Kingsley. 

"Clint managed to get away a last message on his Whisper!" Tony sounded halfway to panic. "Nat knows he's taken. The shock brought her to labour."

\---------------- 

Darcy opened her eyes to see she was in a small room with three metal walls and one made of blue light. The one of light was kind of see-through and on the other side was another metal room, though slightly bigger. 

Someone was breathing beside her. A young man her own age, he had a bruise on his right cheek and blood on his blue and white plaid shirt. 

"Leo!" she gasped as she pushed herself to sit. "Are you alright?"

"Are you?" He questioned back taking her outstretched hand. "It's not my blood."

"Neither is this," she looked down at the red stain on her jeans. "Oh!" She remembered. "Cow! Those fuckers kicked my dog. I'm going to kill them."

"Get in line," coughed another voice from behind Leo. "I'm gonna chug an arrow so far up their asses that they'll have to spit it out."

"Ew, Clint. That's very graphic," Darcy reached for him as well, he took her hand and squeezed it. "I'm not going to stop you though. Are you okay?"

"Bit dizzy, but then again I'm used to getting hit in the head."

Leo and Clint were holding hands as well, all three of them lending comfort to each other. Their own little circle of security in the confusion. 

"Are we onboard an alien ship?" asked Darcy. 

She tried to see outside the cell. It was dark. There were sounds of distant engines and upset voices but nothing distinguishable. There was a slight tremble around them concluding that, where ever they were, they in were in motion. 

"I think w-we ha-have left the planet's orbit," Leo looked like he was trying to get s feeling of the place. 

"Why would they do that?" Clint chewed his lower lip.

Darcy stroked her thumb over the back of his hand. 

"I'm sure Nat's fine."

"I know she is."

He couldn't quite hide the worry in his voice. 

"Is this all what we got?" a rough angry voice asked from outside the cell, startling all of them. "Three people? You said there was a big power source."

A muscular green-skinned man in brown leathers stared down at them. He looked like a third of Hulk with bad teeth and red hair. A smaller blue man stood beside him looking a bit nervous. About six other people stood behind them, at least two of them were females. 

"There was, Cheif. But they had mercenaries. Really big ones."

"I don't want your stupid excuses!" The chief hit the smaller guy over the head. "You three, get on your feet! Now!"

They had to let go of each other's hands to stand up. Darcy discovered that her left ankle was sprained as she tried to put weight on it. She grimaced from the pain and leaned on the other foot. 

Instinctively she hugged her arms over her breasts to make them less noticeable. Though she wouldn't needed to bother, the two men outside the wall of light were eying up Clint in a very uncomfortable kind of way. 

"Not a total loss," said the chief with a nod. "We can sell him to the Broker and get back what we lost on the landing craft."

By the tone of it Darcy concluded that the Broker either dealt in high-class gladiators or prostitutes, probably both. Apparently she and Leo were immediately disqualified for either race. Though the seriousness of the situation Darcy couldn't help to crack a small laugh. She blamed her nerves. 

Clint gave her the side eye. 

"Thank you for the compliment," He took a short step forward. "But I don't plan to be sold to anyone. Take us back. Our commander is very rich. He'll pay what ever you want in ransom."

The chief laughed. It was cruel and mocking. 

"Do you think we are fools? Don't you think we know that your mercenary friends would trap us as soon as we turn around? No, my pretty. You are going to the Broker, and those two..." He looked Darcy and Leo over. "I guess we can sell them for parts."

"Over my dead body," Clint clenched his fists. 

"I try not to damage the merchandise." 

"You fucker!"

Clint took another step forward. There was a flash of light and the sound of a electric current. He was pushed back towards the further wall. Leo got out of the way just in time. His face contorted slightly in pain. The blue light was obviously more than just a wall to keep them trapped. 

The green chief smirked and turned to his blue subordinate. 

"Put the female in with the other one."

"No!" Both Leo and Clint yelled. 

The subordinate held up a staff, it looked something like cattle-prodder. Light blue eclectic lightning scurried over its sharp tip. It definitely wasn't something you wanted to get close to. Some of the others further back in the room had them as well. 

"Touch her and die!" Clint hissed. 

"Stand back," said the subordinate as he pointed the staff at Clint who looked like he was ready to rush forward again. 

"Wait!" Leo hurried to stand between them with his arms out. "I'm a scientist!"

Everyone looked at him like he had grown an extra head. 

"Leo..." Clint began.

"N-no, I know what I'm doing," Leo patted Clint's chest and walked over to the wall of light to face the captain. "You wanted the p-p-power source right? Well, I'm the one wh-who built it. I can make another one, f-for you. _If_ you promise to let us go, and- and- and don't hurt us."

 

\----------------- 

 

"What do you mean?"

Tony looked between Loki and Kingsley. 

"Say that again."

Their clothes were red with blood. 

"Anthony..."

A small naked baby was wiggling in Loki's arms. 

"Say it again!"

Kingsley took a breath. 

"Natasha is dead."


	7. Possible solution

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm so very sorry that this chapter is a week late, especially after such a cliffhanger. I blame partly, but not entirely, game-addiction and emotional cosplay breakdowns.

Loki knew he was insane to even consider it, but here he was, considering it. The words that had come out of Jane's mouth were impossible, but true. 

Romanoff's body had been placed in the Freeze Machine for the time being. Which was uncomfortable from a moral point of view, but good from a practical one. 

The baby was a healthy girl. So far her name was Pumpkin. A silly name, but the only one her parents ever had called her by. They had put her to Jane's breast. Her own children were sleeping. 

Jane's physical resources wasn't going to be able to sustain three infants, but for now it was the best that they could do. In the midst of their tragedy they still had to hurry to get the ship on its way and save their friends. 

Loki was sitting on the edge of the bed next to Jane's. He had been assigned to look over her, Jemma, and the babies while Kingsley was away helping Coulson secure the new plants in the Conservatory.

Jemma was sitting next to him, still wrapped up in Thor's red cape. Her eyes were fixated on the baby in Jane's arms. She was crying silently. 

On the floor, in a nicely padded loading crate, the dog Cow slept in heavy sedation. The animal's injuries had only been superficial but much blood had been lost. Since there were no donors around for several lightyears the best they could do was to synthesise from what was left and prescribe rest. Kingsley had said the prognosis looked good. 

Loki had placed a spell of no dreams over the animal so he wouldn't kick in his sleep. There was a small digital monitor strapped around the furry neck keeping track of vitals, it beeped silently from time to time of the slowed down heartbeat. 

"You know I'm right," said Jane after one such beep. 

"We can't," Loki breathed. " _I_ can't."

"The Aether will bring her back to life. I had it inside me, I know what it can do."

"It's not that easy..." 

"It's the Reality Stone," Jane pressed on, but softened her voice for the sake of the babies. "It alters reality. Death is a reality."

"Death really doesn't like being tampered with," Loki got to his feet and started pacing, barely avoiding walking into the dog's crate. "Not even an Infinity Stone can ultimately escape it."

"We're not asking for eternity here, only the time back that she lost."

And of course the extra time Loki had planned to give her after Thor ascended the Asgardian throne. He wasn't greedy in any way...

Loki agreed that Romanoff had been cheated out of the rest of her life. Mostly because of him. 

It was he who had altered her body so she could carry a child. It was he who had kept her safe and healthy during the pregnancy. He had become her friend, and it was he who ultimately had failed to save her when she bled out. 

"I think we should do it," Jemma whispered.

It was the first time she spoke since she was found. Loki turned to look at her. She met his eyes defiantly. 

"If we can bring her back to life, we should do it," she repeated. "Think about her little girl. And of Clint..." She broke down in a sob and buried her eyes in the red cape. 

"I agree as well," said JARVIS from above them. 

The baby at Jane's breast made a small noise. She had red hair, like her mother. Loki swore. He already knew he was going to do it so there was no point in arguing either way. 

"You are aware that besides us only Anthony and Banner know about the Reality Stone? We need to explain to the others about this. And they going to ask us why we lied to them."

"We didn't lie," Jemma huffed in a way that heightened her British accent. "We only kept the truth from them."

"You've been spending too much time with me," Loki shook his head with a sigh. "JARVIS? Can you open Banner's safe for me? I hesitate to use my magic so close to the Stone."

"I'm sorry," JARVIS sounded regretful. "Because of safety reasons, as with the Mind Stone, the lock is analog. I can not access it."

"Fine, is there a key or code?"

"Oh..." Jemma looked up from the cape, her eyes were big with realisation. "Bruce has it."

 

\-------------------

 

Bucky took a relived breath. He, Steve, and Thor had carried the tranquillised Hulk onboard the ship. Thor had taken the feet and Bucky and Steve each an arm. 

Together they had taken the big guy to the airlock, placed him inside and locked it. Thor had then politely excused himself to go see Jane and their babies. 

Steve was leaning his back on the airlock door, he looked tired and miserable. 

"Hey?" Bucky stroked his thumb over his boyfriend's cheek to wipe away a tear. "Are you okay?"

"No," closed his eyes as even more tears ran down his face. "I can't believe she's gone."

Bucky sighed and hugged him. He should say something about loosing soldiers, the inevitability of time, life, and death, and all that stupid crap. But honestly, he felt like crying himself. 

"Come on," he squeezed Steve a bit tighter before pulling apart to meet his eyes. "Let's go help Sam and Ronan with the unloading, then we can go back to our room and rest." He smiled teasingly. "I'll let you sleep on my good arm."

Steve gave a small laugh but hid it behind his hand. He gave a short nod and sniffed. Bucky kissed his temple. 

As they turned to head towards the loading bay Loki came into the room from the other direction. He looked nervous, which in turn made Bucky nervous. Steve straightened up, squaring his shoulders like a good soldier. 

"I'm here to see Banner," Loki looked beyond them towards the airlock. "What shape is he in?"

"Big, green, and unconscious," Bucky scanned the other for the source of the unrest but couldn't find anything. "And I wouldn't recommend disturbing him."

"I don't think he can't de-hulk that well without Darcy," Steve was trying to sound as neutral as possible. "And he doesn't know about Nat yet. Or Clint and Leo. I don't know how we can tell him without endangering the whole ship."

Bucky hadn't thought of that. He was actually scared to imagine it, and very few things scared him now a days. 

"I _could_ use the Mind Stone..." Loki sighed under his breath, apparently speaking to himself. "But I've used it on him several times already... But we need..."

"Need what?" asked Steve. 

Before Loki could answer they were interrupted by Sam and Ronan coming into the room. They were each carrying a crate of the food they collected earlier. One of Stark's robots were following them, also loaded with several crates. The airlock antechamber was the shortest path to the storage so it was only logical that they would come this way. 

"Hey, Cap?" Sam asked. "Are we leaving anything for the prisoners? 'Cause now's the last chance before we close the hatch. Should we give them a knife to cut themselves loose or something?"

Steve looked hesitant but Loki settled it. 

"And give them a weapon to play 'Lord of the Flies' over?" he huffed irritatedly and strode over to the airlock to gaze angrily down at the snoring Hulk through the window. "They can use their teeth and nails. I've done it several times before, it's not _that_ painful."

Bucky agreed, but refrained from saying it out loud as he noticed the look Steve and Sam shared. Ronan just nodded once to approve, though it was impossible to tell if it was from experience or if he just didn't care. 

"Do any of you have access to Banner's lab?" Loki was obviously trying to keep calm over something. 

"No," Steve shook his head. "What are you planning?"

"There's something in there that I need." He took a deep breath. "I must to speak to Anthony.

Before anything else could be said he walked out of the room, leaving the four men and one robot behind to stare after him. He was going in the direction of the Bridge. 

"What was that about?" asked Sam. 

"Don't know..." Steve narrowed his eyes. "Bucky, why don't you go find out? I'll help securing the cargo."

Bucky gave him a searching once over but didn't see anything he should be immediately worried about. He couldn't help patting Steve's shoulder before leaving though. Steve gave him a brave and thankful smile. 

He left in a small jog but still missed the elevator taking Loki up. Bucky gave a sign to JARVIS' sensor and waited. 

Two seconds later he headed for the emergency ladder. 

He reached the Bridge by a hatch to the backside of the elevator. Hill gave him a nod and a raised eyebrow from the pilot seat. Bucky gave her an almost smile and closed the hatch. 

Tony was by the big screen talking to Peter Quill. Both looked very sad and grave. Loki was standing as if he stopped walking about halfway towards Tony, obviously hesitant to move forward while the conversation was on. 

Bucky stayed back as well. 

"It doesn't sound like the Ravagers, my former crew," said Peter from the screen, he had a bruise on his left cheek and a cut on his lower lip. "It must have been a separatist group, there are a few of those around. But I didn't expect them being so far out. I can make some inquiries."

"Thanks," Tony sighed. "We need to go after them. I got a particle trace we can follow, but it would be easier if we know where they are going. We don't have time to interrogate the prisoners"

"Good idea," Peter nodded and looked to someone off screen on his side. "Gamora is saying you should go on. Leave the interrogation to us. We'll catch up with you."

"Thank you Peter. I was hoping you'd say that."

"No problem. Good luck."

Peter have a waive. 

"Same to you," Tony turned off the screen and the ordinary window to the outside appeared. "Hill? Are we ready?"

"I'm just waiting for Sam to come and give the 'all clear', Commander," Hill typed a sequence of numbers into the console she was operating. 

"I love it when you call me that," smiled Tony. 

Bucky couldn't help but to notice Loki's and Hill's combined eye roll. If Tony saw it, he ignored it. Instead he turned around to look at Bucky. 

"Is Bruce okay?"

"He's sleeping," Bucky came forward to stand next to Loki. "But I don't think we can keep him sedated for long."

"Don't worry about that," Loki waived his hand dismissively. "Kingsley has a new concoction that can take care of that. We have an even bigger problem concerning Banner." 

"And what is that?" Tony turned to the nearest console to check over something that looked like a check-list. "And is it urgent? Liftoff is in five minutes."

"It concerns Romanoff," Loki breathed. 

Bucky watched Tony tense up. Hill momentarily closed her eyes and take a breath before continuing her work. She was only keeping it together through her large amount of training. Bucky felt the same and took another step forward. 

"If you are referring to him not knowing about..." he fought to find a not too blunt wording "...about her..."

"I can bring her back."

There was a sudden silence that even the distant mellow hum from the engines wasn't able to drown out. Loki stood in the middle of the room, nervously opening and closing his fists. Tony turned slowly to face him. 

"What did you say?"

"The Reality Stone," Loki spoke quickly as if not to loose his momentum. "We can use it to bring her back." 

He hesitated in a very uncharacteristic way. Tony stared at him. It felt a bit uncomfortable. 

"What's the Reality Stone?" asked Hill, beating Bucky to the punch. 

"It's one of the Infinity Stones..."

"The..." She paused in slight shock. "You mean the Aether-thing that got inside Jane in London?"

Bucky had heard quite a lot about that incident. Thor and Darcy had boasted a lot of it as they talked. It was the same incident in which Loki had been injured and presumed dead. 

Also, as soon as they had left Earth Steve had come to the conclusion that every vow of secrecy he'd ever given to the government, SHEILD, or the army had become invalid. Some of the stories he had told had even made Bucky uncomfortable. 

"Do we have it?" he asked. 

"Yes," Loki nodded without looking away from Tony. "Anthony bought it, and Banner asked us to keep it a secret."

Tony met his eyes, slowly shaking his head. Hill looked between them, narrowing her eyes. 

"And you were not going to tell us about this?" she asked, her calm tone revealed just how upset she was. 

"Loki..." Tony breathed. "We're not sure what it will do."

"It will bring her back. Death won't like it of course, but she can't do anything about it." He paused. "Jane and Jemma agrees... it was actually their idea..."

"I don't know if that makes it more comfortable. Also I don't like you talking about death in third person."

Loki just shrugged at this. Bucky had no problem seeing Death as a personality, he had lived with death long enough to see it as a form of companion. Actually, the thought was kind of comforting. He wondered if this was something he could discuss with Steve without worrying him. 

"It won't take much power, so it will be safe," Loki said as if he was trying to not only convince them but himself as well. "She's not been dead long, she's frozen so she's not decomposing, and she was of good health to start with. Think of her child, little Pumpkin, and of Barton."

"You would bring up Pumpkin..." murmured Tony. 

"I think we should do it," Hill sighed. "I don't like being held in the dark about it, but if we have the resources to save her..."

"I agree," nodded Bucky and smirked. "It's not like some of us haven't come back from the dead before."

It was meant as a bad joke, but the other three seemed to take it seriously judging by their settled expressions. Bucky shifted. 

Loki cleared his throat. 

"The only problem is that only Banner knows how to access the Stone in his lab, and unfortunately he is a bit unavailable at the moment. I might be needing to use the Mind Stone on him. But..." he took another breath. "I've used it on him several times already, and I'm afraid that it could get tempted to take hold of him."

"Okay..." Tony pinched the root of his nose in frustration. "Babe, you never told me it could do that."

"It didn't come up," Loki shrugged. "Darling."

"Oh, don't sweet talk me, sugar," Tony sighed deeply and straightened up. "Right. Fine. Right. We'll discuss this later. Hill, get Sam up here and continue the countdown. I'll go crack the damn lock."

 

\--------------

Anthony was wearing both his gauntlets as he tried to figure out how to open Banner's false laboratory wall. 

"This is exactly what I was worried about when I let him design his own lab."

"That he'd build a safe place to store experimental radioactive materials?" Loki was pretending to be nonchalant, leaning against the large desk in the middle of the room. "Or that you would unknowingly buy one of the most powerful things in the universe and he wouldn't let you play with it?"

"Sweetest, so far I've been too much of a gentleman to spank you, don't test me."

"If you touch me I'll curse your dick off," Loki hid his halfway smile by examining his nails. "Dearest."

"Don't worry, lover, I'll use a paddle."

The thought was strangely titillating. Loki couldn't help a small giggle escaping him. Anthony smirked widely. 

"Will you two stop doing that!" barked Rogers. "This is serious!"

"Look..." Anthony sighed and turned back to the wall. "I didn't know what it was when I bought it. And Rocket didn't know what he was selling so don't blame him. Keeping it from you was for your own safety, so get off my back!"

"You are so incredibly irresponsible," Rogers shook his head. 

"Well, it seems like my irresponsibility is going to bring Nat back to life."

"It was your device that brought the pirates to us in the first place."

"Both of you, shut up," Loki huffed, his momentarily good mood lost.

He didn't want to listen to them bicker anymore, also he mostly blamed himself and his inability to save Romanoff. 

Rogers and Barnes were standing in the doorway. Neither looked happy, but Barnes looked more exasperated while Rogers was angry. 

"Are you sure this will work?" he asked. 

"The Reality Stone manipulates reality," Loki explained. "We will simply alter this reality to one were Romanoff is still alive."

"'Simply'?" repeated Barnes. 

"Nothing is ever simple," Loki gave him a sad smile. "We are only safe to do this because we are too busy to mourn her at the moment."

"What do you mean?" 

"Well... We haven't had any big events affected by her death yet. Like your arm, for instance, if the Reality Stone was to change to a reality were you have it, we would still suffer from the consequences from you loosing it. To redeem that we would need to combine with the Time Stone."

"And where is that?" asked Rogers, suddenly curious. 

"Lost to the ages..." Loki gave him a stern look "...where it shall hopefully remain."

"I don't want my arm back," Barnes held up his metal hand, made a fist and then relaxed. "This is a part of me now. This _is_ my arm."

Loki looked away from Rogers' sad and mushy smile, it was slightly disgusting. 

"There we go!" exclaimed Anthony proudly. "I am a genius!"

The false door pulled away to reveal a smaller room with a safe. The canister with the Aether was standing inconspicuously on the floor.


	8. Troubled circumstances

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm sorry about the irregular updates but RL is being stupid at the moment.

Tony shivered as he watched Steve lift Natasha out of the Freeze Machine, and it was not only because of the cold air coming out of the sarcophagus. Bucky had chosen not to enter the room, which was understandable. 

Nat had been quickly washed off before being frozen but the green cotton sheet wrapped around her had spots of blood. There was white frost in her red hair. Tony shivered again. 

"Take her into the surgery room," Loki motioned with his head as he was holding the container with the Aether between his hands. 

"Will she be needing medical attention?" Kingsley asked, holding up the door for Steve and his gruesome burden. "Will she still have her injuries?" 

The surgeon had surprisingly quickly accepted the idea of... What was it Loki had called it in his explanation? 'Reality-exchange'? Perhaps the doctor wasn't troubled by the method as long as it saved, or returned, the life of his patient? Tony was kind of afraid to ask. 

Not to mention that his boyfriend was about to bring a dead woman back to life. Well, _reality-exchange_ her back to life. Fuck, living in space was really messed up. 

"I'm not sure," said Loki in response to Kingsley. "I have never tried anything like this before. But it is best not do this too close to Jane and the children."

Tony glanced to the recovery room as they crossed the office. Jane was watching them intently through the glass, she gave him a weak smile. Thor was holding her hand, but, contrary to her, he was averting his eyes. He was looking intently to the makeshift crib. 

Jemma and Coulson were also in there but Tony could only see the top of their heads from that angle since they were both sitting on the floor. Probably comforting the dog, and more subtlety than Thor, looking away. 

"Is it dangerous for her?" asked Steve carefully laying down Nat on the operation table. 

"For Jane?" Loki shook his head. "I don't think so. It's just a bit too alluring for those who have once been possessed."

"That's assuring..." Tony heard Bucky mumble. 

The ship made sudden a small shiver. 

"Final Countdown," said Tony to Kingsley's questioning glance. "Sam must have joined Hill. We'll be off in a moment."

That made him think of what to do when Hill and Sam needed to be rotated. Clint was gone, and he doubted that Nat would be up for piloting _if_ this lunacy would happen to work. He would need to take a shift himself, maybe give Coulson a crash course. 

He was brought back from his distracted thought by Ronan standing by the Med-bay doors, looking just as intent as Jane. Well, Loki had said the Stone was alluring.

Not creepy at all.

 

\---------------

 

Clint gritted his teeth as he nursed his bleeding nose. He had no idea were his bow was, but where ever it was he was sure it was being violated by foul-handed creatures. They better not destroy it before Clint could get to them and punch _them_ in the face. 

"'Don't damage the merchandise', my ass." 

He was alone in the boxy cell now. Darcy and Leo been taken away, not for want of Clint protesting very loudly and physically about it. If he in the process had been able to scope out the outside room and most of his opponents it wasn't his fault. He wasn't one of the best agents coming out of SHEILD for naught. 

Also, if he had been able get in a good knee-kick to a overconfident dickhead alien who had tried to feel him up, that wasn't his fault either. He was more than a pretty face and body, damn it. Just try and sell him as a high-end prostitute. He'd kick their asses before they could get to his. 

These fine goods belonged to his wife. 

Nat would had gotten a good laugh out of it though. He smiled at the thought. He hoped she had gotten his message and that she and Pumpkin were fine. 

Leo had been able to convince their captors that he was the inventor of the 'power core' back on the planet. On the other hand, while thereby increasing his own value he had not been able to do the same thing with Darcy and Clint. 

From what Clint concluded Darcy had been moved to another room where they kept another female prisoner from a former raid. Leo had most likely been taken to some workshop where he would be forced to prove himself and his scientific claim. 

Clint didn't doubt that Leo could whip up some amazing machinery. But the young man was not Tony Stark and Arc-reactor technology was, to Clint's simple understanding, not something you just whipped up. 

Neither did he doubt that their friends were scrambling to rescue them, but he had no idea how long that would take. The longer time the three of them were separated, the bigger the chance that they would not come together again. It was also impossible to tell where they were going and how long it would take to get them there. 

Therefore it was basically down to him to save all of their asses. 

"Right."

He took a deep strengthening breath and checked his nose again. It had stopped bleeding, though he got a feeling he would be pretty beat up by the end of all this . 

Now, to the task at hand. First he needed to get out of the cell. 

He was wearing black jeans, the sleeveless Hawkeye vest, and his worn combat boots. His quiver had been taken away from him with the bow, but the strap to which it hooked on to was still strapped across his chest. 

He looked over the wall of light that created the bars of the cell. There had the be something he could do short circuit it. 

It probably didn't do him much credit that his first idea was frustratingly throwing both his shoes at it. That only resulted in an unpleasant burned leather smell filling the room. With his heightened sense of taste it felt like disgusting film on his tongue. Though the exposed steel toe gave him a new, hopefully better, idea. 

"Man, I'm getting too old for this."

That made him pause. When was his birthday? He had already lost track of Earth-time around the time Tony had begun complaining about missing out on Christmas. His fortieth birthday was the twenty-eighth of January. Well, he shrugged as he patted himself down, it was a good excuse as any not have his midlife crisis. 

He sent one of his more rare sincere thankful thoughts to Tony as he undid the strap and pulled open the velcro of his vest. Using the buckle of the sharp strap he pierced the inside of the vest's lining and ripped it open. 

The inside of the vest was lined with several light and agile plates made of the same metal as the Iron Man suit. Tony had described it as if a bulletproof vest had a very awesome and cool child with a chain mail. Clint had stopped listening at that point, though he got the part when Tony noted the metal would also protect him from electric shocks. 

It was hopefully very unlikely that the alien ship was protected from something so particularly crafted for such a off-the-grid planet as Earth. 

He used the buckle again to bend off one of the corner plates. It was about the size of a business card. He accidentally cut his left palm on the corner as the plate came lose. 

"Fuck."

He licked the wound, it was not really more than a scratch, still hurt though. The tangy taste didn't blend well with the burnt leather smell. 

"Typical."

He placed the freed metal plate flat against the wall next to the bottom part of the wall of light that was keeping him trapped inside the cell. Angling the plate slowly, scraping it against the floor into the light, he was able to create a small triangle hole. 

It didn't do anything except for getting his forefinger through. The plate was getting quite warm as well. Clint was beginning to believe this plan was only going to leave him with a third degree burn on his finger. He moved it uncomfortably. 

Just as he was going to give up the wall of light blinked, frizzed, and went out. Thank goodness, because plan B had been to try seducing the next person coming to check on him. 

Clint didn't hesitate but immediately rolled out of the cell. Good thing he did because the next moment the light went on again, zapping him painfully on his left foot. 

His left foot that had no shoe on because both of his shoes were still inside the cell. 

He didn't even bother saying the particularly foul curse word he was forming in his head out loud. Safe to say that the word was something that would even make Tony Stark clutch his pearls. 

Clint pulled off his socks and put them in his back pocket. Bare feet would get better traction, and socks could be used as weapons with the right filling. 

"Fine," Clint breathed, as he stretched out his muscles and looked up at the ventilation shaft in the ceiling. "Let's Die Hard the hell out of this fucking shit."

\-----------

 

Darcy was in yet another cell. She and Leo had been dragged away from Clint. At first she had struggled but her guard had been too strong for her. She had also tried to hold to hold on to Leo before they had been dragged in different directions, but, again, she hadn't been strong enough. 

The new cell didn't have a wall of light. This one had a real door with a real lock. It also had a mattress on the floor. A woman was sitting on the mattress, leaning against the wall and hugging her knees. 

Darcy gave her a tentative smile. 

The woman just stared neurally back up at her with amazing periwinkle yellow eyes. Her skin was dark pink. All her hair, even lashes and brows, were a rich dark purple. If you disregarded her almost flat chest, and the two scar-like dents on each of her cheeks, she had the kind of face and body that most women on Earth only could get through very expensive surgery.

"Hi," Darcy tried again, hoping that she still had the Allspeak. "I'm Darcy. I'm from Earth... Eh, 'Terra'? Do you know it?"

The woman shook her head. Darcy took a chance the body language was the same and the gesture was a negative answer. 

"What's your name?" 

"Careet," the woman momentarily shifted her look away from Darcy and then looked back. "Are they going to eat us?"

"Hopefully not," Darcy sat down next to her. "My friends are working on it." 

"They said they were going to eat me," Careet shifted. 

She was wearing a short brown dress, her legs, arms, and feet were bare. 

"I'm sure they were just try to scare you."

Darcy wasn't going to let on that she had received the exact same threat and that she herself was personally very scared. There was something about Careet that brought out her maternal feelings. This was quite surprising since Careet looked to be about Darcy's own age and Darcy wasn't exactly the maternal type. 

"Where do you come from?" she asked to take her mind of things. "I've never seen anyone like you before. What's the name of your planet?"

"Krylar," said Careet in a sad voice. "But I've never been there. My mother left for Xandar before I was born."

"Oh," Darcy nodded. "That's totally cool. My mom came from Seattle, but we never went there. She and Dad moved to Texas before I was born and then when I was five we moved to Chicago, and in high school we went to Boston. It was really a bummer but it was all right in the end... And I'm just babbling on because I'm a total dweeb and you have no idea what I'm talking about. But that's cool too."

Way to keep it together, Darce...

Careet blinked her long purple lashes. Darcy smiled apologetically. She was rewarded by Careet giving her a shy smile back. Go Darcy, the greatest morality officer in the galaxy. This was definitely going in the newsletter when she got back to Heidrun. 

Good girl. Keep the hope going. 

Not that she had lost hope. She was just really worried about Bruce. She wondered if he had managed to de-Hulk.

"Do you have anyone looking for you?" Darcy asked leaning back against the wall. "Like family or crew?"

"No." Careet whispered and shook her head again. 

"Don't worry," Darcy patted the woman's hand. "You can come with me."

 

\--------------- 

 

Tony touched Natasha's hand. He wished he hadn't. It was so cold. 

He stepped away as Kingsley attached cords and sensors to her. They were preparing for the worst. Nobody knew if Nat would still be bleeding from the birth. JARVIS was displaying a eerily blue female image on a nearby monitor. 

Another monitor showed several angles of outline of a human brain. All were black. Tony looked away from the screen. 

Loki was really pale. He was holding the canister between his hands. It almost looked like he was meditating. 

"You all right there, babe?" Tony carefully probed. 

"I'm fine," Loki took what seemed to be a calming breath. "It's just uncomfortable to be this close to this Stone again. The sooner we get this over with the better."

"I'm ready," said Kingsley stepping away from the body, Natasha. 

"I'm not," said Tony and rubbed his forehead. "But let's go anyway."

Steve had left the room, too overwhelmed by emotion to be of any use. Bucky had followed him. Loki had said it was for the best because too much open mourning affected the reality timeline. Even Tony, who had quite a good knowledge of relativity and chaos theory, had difficulty understanding that part. 

"If I seem to be faltering, I want Ronan to catch me first." Loki glanced towards the blue man standing by the door but then stopped on Tony. "He's been through the touch of a Stone before, and he has the shortest emotional history of attachment to both me and Romanoff."

Tony nodded. He glanced to Ronan who was moving solemnly to the foot of the operating table. Tony understood the logic of Loki's request, but he still a small lump of jealousy in his gut. 

"I just don't want you to get hurt, my love," Loki whispered as he took a step closer to Tony. "You just keep an eye on her vitals and be ready if Kingsley needs assistance. "

"Yes," Tony almost blushed. "Thank you."

Loki smiled shyly back at him. Tony got the feeling if the container with the Stone hadn't been between them they would have kissed. The thought was exiting. He would definitely bring this moment up later when they weren't busy bringing the dead back to life.  
_  
Also, note to self: if this works, try not to refer to Nat as a zombie._

Tony watched as Loki undid the lid from the canister. 

The atmosphere in the room changed. It wasn't like the Mind Stone, thanks to the arc reactor in his chest Tony was impervious to its mind control. He wondered if the reactor would protect him from this as well. 

He had seen pictures of the Aether before, calling it a Stone was just idiotic. 'Freaky Red Smoke' was a better name for it. It rose out of the canister like slow motion fumes from a chimney. It then floated like a sinister cloud in midair. 

If this was a horror movie it would start raining blood at any moment. 

"JARVIS," Tony breathed. "You better be scanning this."

"I am, sir," answered the computer. "It's very interesting."

Loki handed the canister to Kingsley who put it on a nearby table. 

"No," he took a breath and rubbed his hands together creating several green sparks in the process. " _This_ will be interesting."

He placed his hands on either side of the red cloud. Then he squeezed it like you squeeze snow into a ball. His brow cringed, his lips thinned, and his eyes narrowed. After a few hard breaths he was holding an apple-sized glowing red jewel between his fingers. 

Tony admitted that it was quite interesting. 

Then the jewel's light began to engulf Loki's hands. And then dissolving them...

"Eh? Babe?"

"Get... Ready..." Loki croaked. 

He pushed down the jewel on Nat's abdomen. Soon the light engulfed her as well. 

Tony suddenly jump scared when several alarms started going off around them. Lights were flashing, machinery was beeping, monitors were glowing with strange readings. Loki screamed in pain. 

It was a horrible scream. It clenched Tony's heart. 

"What's going on?!" Steve rushed into the room, Thor and Bucky were at his back. 

Loki was falling backwards, hugging the jewel to his chest. Tony rushed forward, but Ronan was there first. Two strong blue arms caught Loki before he completely hit the floor. Tony went down on his knees next to them, struggling fiercely with himself not to reach out and touch, hold, hug...

There was so much red, the jewel was slowly converting back to Aether again. But there was blood as well. Dark blood seeping through the fabric of Loki's clothes. 

The machines were going crazy. Kingsley was moving fast. There was a sound of a heartbeat that hadn't been there before. 

Then another scream. This time it was Ronan. He violently pushed Loki away towards Tony and scrambled backwards until his back hit the wall. He was gasping for air. Bucky hurried over to him. 

Thor came down on one knee next to Tony. Both worriedly looked down at the pale unconscious face. Normally Tony would enjoy the opportunity to hold Loki in his arms, but this wasn't normal.

"Here," Steve was holding out the container. "Put it back inside."

Tony nodded, he couldn't do anything else than hold on to Loki. It was up to Thor and Steve to guide Loki's arms and hands so that the dissolving jewel returned to it's safe place. Steve firmly screwed on the lid. 

"How is he?" he asked. 

"The wound of Malekith's knife has returned," said Thor lifting Loki's bloody shirt to show the discoloured cut. "He must have touched another reality where he wasn't healed."

"What shall we do?" asked Tony, feeling a bit panicky. "I mean... Shall we put him in he Freeze Machine?"

"Good idea," nodded Thor. "I'll do it."

Before Tony had time to react Loki had been taken away from his arms, leaving only bloodstains behind. His head spun, he felt nauseous. He heard the others talking as if from a far. Steve was standing next to him. 

"Clint...?" came a weak female whisper from the table above him. "Where's Clint?"


	9. Here we go again

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I have given up all pretence that I can make one chapter a week. Sorry. I will crank them out as often as I can though. Bare with me. 
> 
> Also, I've just seen Captain America 3, and I'm not okay. Too many feels!

Loki tapped the glass of the Freeze Machine. He didn't remember being put in there in the first place, but the fact that he _was_ there was concerning. So was the all to familiar pain in his gut. 

He could see out the periphery of the small window to the med-bay office a red-haired woman walking around. She had a baby in her arms, the top of its soft head against her lips. Romanoff was alive, the Reality Stone had worked. 

But Loki realised it had worked too well as he saw the distress in Anthony's face as the man rushed forward towards the machine. It was probably not the best thing to do, but Loki motioned to Anthony to let him out. It The human complied without question. 

"Babe," he sighed with a big relived smile. "I'm sorry but I don't care how you feel, or want you want, I'm so going to kiss you now."

And he did. He had to stand on the tip of his toes, but he really did. It made Loki feel happy, nauseous, and emotionally touched all at the same time. He leaned down and gave in to the kiss for a moment before felling the need to pull away. 

"Thank you," he whispered. 

"We patched you up the best we could," Anthony took a step back as he gestured down to Loki's stomach. "And Kingsley injected you with some of his new painkiller he's been working on..."

"The wound was mostly held together by magic and denial anyway," Loki put a hand on his abdomen, feeling the thick bandage there, it was only slightly sore. "Even though it was healed, it was always there, just beneath the skin. I was just tricking my own mind to believe it was gone."

Anthony frowned at this. Loki decided to change the subject. 

"How is Romanoff?"

"I'm fine," the woman entered the small room, the redheaded baby on her shoulder was sleeping. "Thank you so much." She smiled and got up on her toes. "I'm going to kiss you too."

She quickly pressed her lips to his cheek. Loki automatically rubbed the touch away but gave her a shy smile. 

"There's one crux though..." Anthony shifted nervously. "Well, there's actually two cruxes if we count your wound... or three, because Ronan is knocked out... but we don't know... Well..."

"Tell me," Loki sighed. "Stop prattling."

"So..." Anthony took another breath and quickly glanced at the baby. "Let me try and get this straight. Correct me if I'm wrong. So, you said that the Reality Stone alters reality, that's simple enough. Like we are now in a new timeline, but we still remember our old timeline because we can't remember the new timeline because we can't change time because we don't have the Time Stone. Right?"

Anthony had spoken quite fast, but Loki got the gist of it. 

"Yes, that is correct." Loki nodded slowly. "Except that it is _not_ a new 'timeline', it's a new _reality._ There is a significant difference."

"Right... And that is?"

"I thought you were a genius, Stark."

"Don't be a bitch, babe." 

"You said it yourself, my dear. We can't change time, only reality."

"Right..." Anthony frowned again. 

"Also, since you didn't come in contact with the Stone, you don't live in an alternative reality. If this was a new timeline you would have probably changed as well."

"Are you deliberately trying to confuse me or is this just a happy coincidence?"

Loki smirked as he looked Romanoff over, she actually looked healthier than ever. The emotion on her face was a bit uncomfortable though. She looked him in the eyes. 

"My body is back to as before you altered it back on Earth," she breathed. "According to the scans the..." she took another breath to smell the top of her child's head "...the internal injures that made me sterile are still there. And I've never been pregnant."

The baby in her arms whined in her sleep. 

"Oh. That's... paradoxical."

"Does this affect Clint?" she interrupted. "Jane said that she thought the closer you were to the Aether the bigger the change to your reality would be. And you said that the change only happened to those in contact. But could Clint have been affected by me by proxy?"

"Maybe," Loki shrugged. "I don't know."

"You don't know?" Anthony repeated in a very outraged voice. "You sounded so sure a moment ago."

"I never said I was an expert," Loki shrugged again. "I just know how to use it. Or rather I made a qualified guess on how to use it. Also, I'm drawing several conclusions by the results I see before me."

"God..." Anthony covered his face in his hands. "That's such a super villain mentality."

Loki decided to ignore that comment for the sake of domestic peace. 

"She's alive." He gestured to Romanoff. "That was the whole point, wasn't it?"

Anthony was just about to say something else, but was interrupted by the computer.

"Sir, I've just made a routine scan of life signs onboard, and there is a new one located in Agents Romanoff's and Barton's quarters."

One of the monitors turned on to the image of a big blond dog sleeping on a bed. 

"What the fuck...?" Anthony eloquently exclaimed. 

\---------------

 

Clint had found a system of ventilation shafts. Funny how some things were universal. 

He had crawled around several strange but somehow still familiar pipes, tubes, and cords for about ten minutes before finding something interesting. It was a small vent, far too narrow for him to get in, but he could hear voices quite clear through it. 

"...tools and materials." 

It was Leo. He sounded full of false bravado, probably summoning his inner Tony Stark. Hopefully his guards wouldn't know the difference between false and real as good as Clint did. 

"Build it!" roared the very threatening voice belonging to the chief from before followed by the sound of a fist hitting a metal wall. 

"I said I d-don't have the resources!" 

"Then what use are you?"

"I can build something else... A... A..." He sounded like he was looking around for ideas, he also sounded like he was loosing some of the fake bravado. "Like a freeze gun, or a flamethrower?"

Clint cringed a bit. Freeze guns and flamethrowers wasn't something you wanted to put in the hands of space pirates. Especially if you were going to try to escape from them later on. Though understandably the space pirates themselves didn't mind. 

"You got until we reach port," growled the captain. 

Despite not knowing how long that would be Clint had a hunch that it was not a comforting amount of time. At least it gave him a unknown deadline, which was better than not knowing about the deadline at all. 

There was suddenly the sound of running footsteps and someone breathing heavily. 

"What?" barked the chief. "I told you to bring the prisoner to my quarters."

"He's escaped, sir. The prisoner is gone. All he left was his shoes."

"His shoes? Why would he do that?"

Clint snickered. He was barefoot and his only weapons were his socks, but at least he was confusing his enemies. And he wasn't being molested by aliens, thank you very much. 

There was sadly nothing he could do for Leo at the moment so he continued his crawl through the vents. 

He had caught a smell that indicated some form of cooking. Cooking could mean kitchen, and kitchen would mean knives. Hand to hand combat wasn't his best forte, he was a long distance kind of guy. But he knew a few good moves thanks to Nat, and he wasn't afraid use them. 

Bucky and Steve could attest to that. 

The thought of Nat made him pause for a moment. Would she have the baby before he returned? He had promised to be with her during the birth. Despite her hard exterior, Nat had really been worried about that. He hoped that she was all right. 

As he had guessed, the next ventilation outlet was into something similar to a kitchen, or at least a room were food was being stored. There didn't seem to be any stoves or ovens, which either meant cooking was done in another room, or everything was consumed cold. 

There was something akin to a food preparation area though. A good place to search for knives. 

Nobody was in the room so Clint took a chance of loosing the protective metal grid and slipping out of the vent. He used what looked like a sink to get a foothold before taking a jump to land on the floor. 

The floor was sticky with dirt and crumbs. It made his stomach turn a bit. This place wouldn't stand a snowball's chance in Hell one of Coulson's health inspections. Even Hulk would hesitate to eat something from this place. 

There weren't any knives, probably because everyone one aboard carried their own. 

"That'll be something to look forward to," Clint sighed. 

He didn't leave empty handed though. Thanks to some ingenuity he was able to construct a slingshot from a piece of a dirty dish towel, a loose cabinet handle, and the elastic from his underwear. Tony Stark wasn't the only one who was a fan of MacGyver. 

The loss of said underwear was a bit uncomfortable, but nothing he couldn't get used to. He really hoped that this would be the end of his stripping on this adventure. 

Calling it an 'adventure' was a stretch though. 

He was also able to fill up both his socks with some kind of rice grain from a big hemp-like feeder bag in the corner. Two mice had scurried away from the bag as he dug into it. At least he hoped they were mice, their long tails had been green. 

All in all the room was disappointing, none of the food seemed appetising to him and that said a lot. The closest thing to something sharp he could find was what he guessed was a can opener, he put it in his back pocket. There were also some grey rocks that on closer examination could be likened to hard candy sugar cubes. He emptied one of the socks and filled it up with the rocks instead. 

By then he figured, by the sound of footfalls and voices around the ship, he had stretched his luck far enough and returned to the vent. 

He was just in the process of refastening the metal grid when the door to the room opened. Having only had time to fasten one side of the grid Clit had to hold on to the other side to not let it fall. The tips of his fingers were visible from the outside. Clint held his breath. 

A guy, quite similar to the teal-skinned dude Clint and Ronan had fought under Heidrun back on the planet, came into the room. Luckily he seemed more interested in finding a snack than an escaped prisoner. There was a grunt of frustrated disappointment when the empty box of sugar rocks was found. 

_Don't look up, don't look up, don't look up._ Clint painfully pinched the grid with so little of his fingertips as possible. 

The guy looked up. His crimson eyes widened as he caught sight of Clint's fingers. 

_Fine, change of plan._

Clint forcefully pushed the grid outwards letting it hit the bastard in the face. Without pausing he then repelled himself forward out of the vent, leading with a shoulder into the gut. He jumped to his feet and gave his stunned opponent a knee in the side and an elbow in the back of the head. It was over quickly after that, and he didn't even need to use his slingshot. 

A fast search of the knocked out pirate's dirty clothes made him feel like he needed an update on his shots, or a new dose of Loki's potion. He did find four small knives and what he guessed to be a lighter. 

It was beginning to be a bit of a chore to carry so much around, his belt and pockets were now full. He really hoped it all stayed up since dropping his trousers at this time wouldn't be that pleasant. Perhaps he could find a bag of some sort. 

Clint used the pirate's own belt to hogtie his wrists and ankles together. He then pushed the heavy bastard into the far corner next to the sacks of grain. 

As an afterthought, and with a slight smirk, he then pushed the tatted remains of his underwear inside the guy's mouth as a muzzle. Hopefully it would take a while before anyone came to check on this room again. 

Happy with his new accusations Clint returned to the ventilation system, he had a places to be and people to save. 

\------------- 

 

Loki was on his back in the bed next to Jane's. He trying not to suffer under Anthony's attempts to change his bandages. It wasn't that he begrudged Anthony the chance of skin to skin contact, it was just that human's irritated mood wasn't improving his bedside manner. 

Coulson had been sent away to look at the newly discovered dog. He had reported back that the animal was very friendly, this was also proved by the security footage of the dog enthusiastically licking his face. 

"Clint and I were discussing getting a puppy just before I became pregnant," Romanoff commented. "Maybe we did."

"This is too freaky," Anthony shook his head. 

There had just been an alarm saying that Hulk had woken up and wasn't pleased about his surroundings. Thor had gallantly hurried off to subdue the green monster. Rogers had then hurried off after Thor to make sure the subduing didn't cause too much destruction. 

Barnes had stayed behind with Ronan who still was unconscious after hitting his head. Kingsley was making scans. 

Simmons had left to help out with navigation, her injuries weren't that serious and she was too worried for Fitz to sit on her hands and do nothing. Loki knew the feeling. He would rather be anywhere but the Med Bay at the moment. 

"That hurts," he snapped. 

"Sorry," grumbled Anthony and adjusted the bandage. "I just can't believe you lied to us, again."

"I didn't lie. I withheld the truth."

"That's fair," half-shrugged Romanoff. 

"Nat!" 

"What?" She stretched out on her own bed next to her sleeping child. "I've made a career out of the difference between lies and withheld truths. I'm just worried about Clint, Darcy, and Leo."

"We are still tracking them," sighed Anthony. "But we are still following the Marauders' ship's exhaust. We can't use the new engines in case we overshoot them or taint the trace."

"The 'Marauders'?" smirked Jane from behind Anthony. 

"There's no Harry Potter in Space. I doubt they know the reference. Peter Quill's old group were called the Ravagers..." Anthony looked thoughtful in a very concerning way. "Do you think we should have a cool name too?"

"Aren't we the Avengers?" Jane have him a look that Loki wished he could emulate. 

"Oh, yeah, we already have a cool name. I was thinking something like 'Terran Terrors', but let's go with the classics."

"Also, not all of us are Terran," noted Loki. 

"Yeah, some of us are pompous immortals."

Loki gave him a glare. He enjoyed Anthony's bantering up to a point and that point wasn't that far up when it was aimed towards him. Unfortunately he had lost some of his intimidation skills after being domesticated. The glare had some effect though in that Anthony's smile became a bit more defiant. 

Loki sighed. Anthony continued talking while putting the last prices of tape to Loki's tender skin. 

"We got a message from the Guardians telling that they might know to were the ship is heading. It's a trading station of some sort. They are going to see if they can get there before them."

That actually sounded logical. It had to be Rogers' idea. 

"Uh-oh," Kingsley suddenly exclaimed.

"What?" asked Barnes. 

"Look for yourself," said Kingsley holding up a StarkPad. "Ronan's brain is restored, there's no void anymore."

"Does he have his memories back?" asked Loki. 

"Isn't it the same thing?" asked Jane. 

"Not necessarily," 

"But what do you know?" Anthony said sarcastically and rolled his eyes. "Right?"

"There is no need to mock me," Loki gave him a glare. "I'm not as attached to your penis as you are."

"Well, somebody ought to be, and who's better for the task but me? Anyway..." he gave the bandage a gentle pat "...the hole in your stomach tells me you are out of magic commission for a while."

"I still know how to handle a knife and we sleep in the same bed."

Anthony gave a small laugh, but his eyes shifted a little to the side. 

"Should we restrain him?" asked Kingsley looking down on the blue man on the bed. 

"No," Barnes shook his head. "We need him to trust us, we shouldn't treat him differently. If he have his memories back we don't want to turn him against us. Trust me, I know about these things..."

There was really nothing to argue against that. 

"So..." Anthony rubbed his hands together. "Nat, what do you think you named your dog?"

"If it was Clint that named it it's probably just 'Dog', or maybe 'Sobaka' which is Russian for dog."

"Your imagination astounds me."

Loki frowned. 

"'Chewbacca'?" he asked. "Isn't that from that strange movie?"

"Have I ever told you how much I love you?" smiled Anthony.


	10. Escaping

"What you doing there?" Tony asked Kingsley. 

The doctor was busy with some chemistry experiment, seemingly analysing some white fluid. Tony was a bit bored of waiting for Ronan to wake up and had wandered over for a closer look. 

"Trying to replicate breast milk nutrients," Kingsley looked over a spectrometer diagram. "Jane is in no shape to sustain three children, and none of us remembered to pack formula."

"Oh," Tony felt that some of that blame fell on him. "Ask if you need any help."

He looked over to the two rotation clocks he had put up on a close by screen. In his opinion they were only reliable timekeepers onboard. Irritatingly though, the clocks individually reset every time either of the to obligatory two crewmen on the Bridge rotated. 

Just at that moment both digital displays counted to exactly six hours. Hill and Sam would soon need to take a break. 

Looking back it had been a bad decision to put the two best pilots together on the first shift, but they had been in a hurry. With Clint gone and Bruce out of commission, only himself and Nat were qualified to take over. He was very hesitant to ask Natasha to take a shift, even a short one. She might be bodily fine, but who knew what was going on in her head. 

JARVIS was completely capable of handling the ship by himself, and it wasn't that Tony didn't trust the computer, it was just a safety issue. 

Much like the Iron Man suit was a cooperation between Tony and JARVIS, the ship simply performed at its best under a symbiotic partnership of one computer and two pilots. They had done several tests to prove it during their time since they left Earth.

"Stark to Hill."

Tony had lost the battle for them all wearing Star Trek-inspired com-badges, but he had been allowed to choose the hail call and the little beeping noise that accompanied it. 

_"Hill, here."_

"How are you holding up? Do you need to rotate?"

 _"Phil just brought us some food. I think we're good for a couple more hours."_

"Just tell us when you're ready. Stark out."

Tony sighed. 

They were still in the Med Bay waiting for Ronan to wake up. For safety Jane, Nat, the babies, and Cow had been moved to Jane's quarters. It wasn't that they were afraid of Ronan, but newborns and potential maniacs shouldn't be in the same room together. 

Also, they really needed to check out the new dog. 

"So, I think I got it..."

Steve was desperately trying to make sense out of the situation. Thankfully he was doing it out loud, that way Tony was off the hook in asking the stupid questions that he also wanted answers to. Unfortunately the only one they had to answer the stupid questions was Loki, who apparently wasn't to be trusted on the subject. 

"Reality changed for those in contact with the Reality Stone. Nat, Loki, and Ronan. But how can Nat still have a baby if she's never been pregnant?"

"Because the baby had already been born, idiot," huffed Loki. 

"But what about the new dog? How could it have appeared out of nowhere?"

"Do I look like some kind of a metaphysical encyclopaedia to you? Accept reality and move on, Captain! Now stop bothering me, I'm trying to concentrate."

Loki was doing some form of magical meditation. His skin had a eerie blue hue to it as if he was struggling not to turn into his Frostgiant self. Tony would have asked him not to strain himself and just give in to it, but he was tired of being glared at. All he could do was to keep the Freeze Machine on stand-by. 

He was also still a bit irritated over that withholding the truth now apparently didn't count as lies. That's what you get when you are in a relationship with the Master of Loopholes, and being friends with master spies. 

"I think..." Tony pondered as he confused even himself, though not admittedly. "And I'm fairly sure I'm right, because I'm that awesome, that the dog is the baby Nat and Clint never had."

"My head hurts," Steve leaned on Bucky's shoulder. 

Bucky lovingly ruffled his hair and suggested a game of cards to ease the pain. Steve agreed with a nod and a deep sigh. They dealt the cards over Ronan's chest. 

Tony had been studying the scans of Ronan's brain for a while now and couldn't come to any other conclusion that it was now all present. Would there be memories from the alternative reality there? 

He had asked Loki about that, but only got the 'I'm not an fucking expert, stop asking me, you silly sexy human'-glare. The 'sexy' part was of course Tony's own personal interpretation of the sideways look. Truth be told, it was impossible to tell what was inside a brain without speaking to the owner of said brain. 

That brought up a whole new idea about a new sort of brain scanner. Tony should really let his genius take a rest. Instead he opened up a new document on the StarkPad. 

About twenty minutes later he had the beginnings of a diagram of an artificial brain before him. How did that happen?

 _"Hill to Stark."_

"Stark here."  
_  
"There's a ship coming towards us, they are demanding to speak to whomever's in charge. I guess that's you."_

"A ship?" Tony got up from his seat. "More pirates?"

 _"They say they are from the Nova Corp."_

"Oh great," sighed Loki without opening his eyes. "More idiots."

\------------------

The ship had landed. The humming of the engines had stopped, funny how you sometimes don't notice things until they are gone. Darcy looked to Careet, the woman's pink skin had a lilac tone to it, making the lines on her cheeks more prominent. 

Darcy had lost track of time, but her internal clock said about a day. Then again, who would trust the internal clock of someone who lived most of their life on a stationary planet and then been launched out to space together with a sentient computer that liked to adjust time to his own needs? 

They had been fed twice, some kind of soupy porridge that only went down because of hunger. She and Careet had spent the time either staring at the walls, ignoring the covered waste bucket in the corner, sleeping, or talking loosely about their lives. 

It turned out that Careet, before being sold to pirates by her shitty ex-boyfriend to pay off a debt, had been something similar to a stewardess on a luxury liner. It was quite interesting that things like that luxury liners actually existed in outer space. But then again, why wouldn't they? Even people in outer space needed vacations. 

Also, shitty ex-boyfriends were also universal. Go figure. 

Darcy was telling Careet about the difficulties being a very average, but still very awesome, person on a ship inhabited by geniuses, super soldiers, and sentient machines when there was a sound at the door. Someone was outside. 

She made a quick sign to Careet to keep back. The pink woman gave a small nod. The door opened. 

"Ha-ya!" Darcy screamed as she aimed a fairly practiced ju-jutsu kick to the man opening the door to the cell. "Ooouff!" she then exclaimed as her leg was very expertly blocked and she fell on her butt to the floor. "Ouch!"

"Good, but could be better. I'll give you some pointers when we get back."

Darcy gasped as a barefoot and disheveled Clint Barton towered over her with half a smirk on his handsome face. 

An instant wave of relief welled over her, and she actually gave a small laugh. 

His hair was a mess and there was some scratches over his cheeks and bare arms. He held out a hand to help her up, she took it and got to her feet. She massaged her butt to relive some pain. 

"Are you here to save us?" asked Careet hopefully. 

Clint looked her over, only slightly raising an appreciative eyebrow over her beautiful appearance, he was a married man after all. 

"This is Careet," said Darcy. "She's coming with us. Careet, this is Clint."

"Hello," Clint gave her a kind smile. "Nice to meet you. Now, come on and follow me. We don't have much time. They're taking Leo somewhere, and I don't think it's somewhere nice."

Darcy and Careet followed him down the corridor. Darcy noticed Clint having a few more scratches on his arms and his clothes were torn and dusty. 

"What happened to you?" Darcy asked curiously. 

"I created a distraction by ejecting one of the escape pods, making the pirates think I left the ship. Then I hid in a dusty broken down part of the ventilation shafts. I lived of grains from my sock baton, made friends with very cool two rats that I named Tony and Steve. Then Tony gave birth to sixteen disgusting babies and Steve attacked me. My life is an awesome adventure." He shivered and smiled. "By the way, nice dress."

Darcy narrowed her eyes. She and Careet had been given matching dresses. White, tight, turtlenecked, long sleeved, and with miniskirts reaching almost not halfway down their bare thighs. It actually looked good on Careet's lean body, but since Darcy was more curvaceous it accentuated areas she usually liked to tone down in lieu of common decency. 

At first she had been offended, but when Careet explained that the dresses meant that the pirates were displaying them as to be sold for servitude and not as meat Darcy was slightly more at ease. Not much though.

"I've found a way out of here," Clint lead them on. "But we need to be quiet, and as soon as we get outside run like your ass is on fire." 

"What about Leo?" Darcy asked.

"We are too outnumbered. And judging how easy it was to get to you, he's more valuable to them. Our best bet is to follow them and grab him the first chance we get."

"They're really going to sell him?" Darcy frowned. "I don't understand why they just won't ransom him."

"Nobody seems to believe Tony has that kind of cash. And we also, we gave them such a good trashing that they seem to be scared to go back..."

Clint stopped at a corridor crossroads and made a sign for them to keep quiet and stay close to the wall. Darcy held her breath, she heard Careet do the same. Two sets of footsteps approached. Clint tensed up, ready to fight if needed to. 

"Why do we need to stay behind?" gruffed a sour voice. 

"Because Grubb and Herzo were clubbed down by that green giant," said a more patient, though not less gruff, voice."

Darcy smirked with a bit of pride. Though it also reminded her of her worry for Bruce and made her even more determined to get back to him.

"The scientist better be worth it. We lost a lotta guys."

Two men, about Thor's size, with light brown skin passed them on the crossing corridor. The sour one had blue dreadlocks, the other one was bald except a blond tuft on the top of his head.

"At least we got to share all their stuff," said the tuft guy. 

"Still sucks we got left behind. I was going to sell this thing."

"The escaped one's weapon? You couldn't get more than five for that."

Clint's bow! Darcy had wondered were it had got to. They had talked about it briefly while in the first cage. She had thought he dropped it back on the planet. 

She and Clint exchanged a look. He looked very excited, and a bit insulted that his treasure wasn't appreciated by its true value. 

_No_ she mouthed very clearly while shaking her head and pointing between herself and Careet. _Are you crazy? Those guys are huge._ She emphasised her silent words with hand gestures. 

"Just distract Blue Hair on the right," Clint leaned in and whispered. "Just long enough for me to knock the other guy out. Then I'll take care of him. I need my bow, Darce."

"Distract how?" Darcy hissed, slightly daring to raise her voice as the two pirates moved further away. 

He was clearly confusing her with someone else. 

"Jump his back, scratch him, bite him," Clint shrugged. "You know, all that girly stuff you do when you get frustrated during your fighting lessons."

"You are just jealous of my awesome technique," she gave him a half-teasing smirk. "Also, I'm so going to tell Nat you said that. She'll kick your ass."

"God, I miss that woman's asskickings..." He sighed deeply but then straightened up. "You ready? Careet? Are you in?"

The pink woman looked pale but gave a stiff and determined nod. Like Darcy, she was obviously not a warrior but still wasn't afraid to get in a fight to defend herself, or to escape pirates. They hadn't gotten into much personal stuff but she seemed someone who could be counted on in a crisis. 

"Go!" 

Clint turned the corner like a pro. Darcy and Careet followed like amateurs. 

With a strange mispronounced battlecry borrowed from some old cliche movie with native Americans played by racist men in redface Darcy ran and jumped the blue haired pirates' back. There was then a cry of pure pain as she plunged her nails into his neck. She drew strength from her irritation over her ridiculous dress riding up over her ass as she struggled to clench onto his back with her thighs. 

She had great thighs by the way, just a side note worth mentioning. 

In her right peripheral vision she saw Careet hold on and bite down for her dear life into the guy's arm. To her left, Clint was hitting the tuft pirate with some skilled moves that only people having trained all their lives for this moment would be able to pull off. 

There was no time for too much admiration though, since the dirty screaming bastard under her nails was beginning to twist around. Thankfully Darcy's usual male sparing partners were quite stronger and skilled than this one so she did a good job holding on. 

Careet wasn't that bad either, she was pushed away into a wall, but spat out a chunk of bloody flesh on the floor before wiping her mouth. She was holding one of the blue dreadlocks in her hand, she threw it away with a disgusted face. That girl really had spirit. She was also a bit scary in this state, but logically you gather a lot of pent up rage when your boyfriend sells you to pirates. 

The next moment Darcy's balance was thrown of by Clint shovelling his opponent's head into Darcy's ride's stomach. Everyone except Clint went down in a big heap of line and exclusive language. The language was mostly Darcy, since the two pirates were more or less out cold and Careet was slightly grunting, but still. 

"What the fuck was that?" Darcy glared up at Clint after her second butt fall in a short amount of time. 

"Surprise attack," Clint was cradling his bow, testing the cord. "I'm very good at those."

"I'm so having Nat beat you up when we get back."

She strainingly got to her feet, supporting herself on one of the slowly recovering pirates. He tried to grab her but she kicked his hand away. Careet got up as well, dusting her white dress off, inspecting the wet and dark bloodstains on the front of it that definitely wasn't hers.

"Come on," Clint threaded the bow over his head so it hang over his right shoulder. "We need to lock these lumps away."

Clint gave each of the pirates a coup de grace by hitting them both the in the head with a baton that looked very much like a stuffed sock. Both of the big men lost consciousness after that. Clint looked too smug for his own good.

With joint efforts the three of them managed to drag their dismantled foes back to the cell. 

After some slight hesitation Darcy and Careet agreed to take the men's shirts to cover up the dresses with. There was no time to find other clothes and the dresses were probably too conspicuous to just walk around in, especially with the blood stains. The shirts were washed-out-red and quite smelly, but it was better than someone mistaking her or Careet for merchandise. 

Clint took the slightly smaller guy's shoes. He sighed with pleasure as he tied them on. It must have been painful to do so much crawling and kicking barefoot. 

In a spur of the moment's folly Darcy and Careet took a little too much pleasure in quickly setting the two pirates in compromising 'big spoon, little spoon'-situation before locking the door around them. 

"All right," Clint dusted off his hands and then gestured towards the corridor leading to the ship's exit "Shall we brave it?"

They quickly moved trough the ship to the exit Clint had found. It was a maintenance hatch that easily opened after being negotiated with a bit of force. Together they got out and down to the ground. 

It was a huge indoor marketplace, probably on space station of some kind. But it was not like any market Darcy had ever seen on Earth or in any science fiction movie. If she were to describe it in one of her fanfictions, it would be as if a Moroccan bazar and the bar from Star Wars had a high tech steampunk baby, then the baby grew up and fell into bad company. 

Though since most of her fanfiction circled around 'Lord Of The Rings' characters it would be a very strange story indeed. Although there were several people moving about sporting big beards, strange ears, or faces hidden in cloaks. 

"All right, ladies," Clint held out his arms for Darcy and Careet to hook on to. "Take hold of me and don't let go unless I tell you to."

"So we won't get separated?" asked Careet taking his arm.

"No," he looked around with narrowed eyes. "There are perverts out here that want to get in my underpants and I'm not wearing any at the moment."

"Too much information," Darcy sighed and hooked her arm to his. "Don't worry we'll protect you."

 

\--------------- 

 

"Stark to Thor."

 _"This is he speaking!"_

"How's Bruce doing?"  
_  
"The great Hulk has tired himself out and is now sleeping unrestfully. I will watch over his slumber."_

"Great, great..." Tony cleared his throat. "Hey, could you be so kind as to move him over a tiny bit away from the airlock so that we can get boarded by the Nova Corp? They want a personal report about the attack and won't take no for an answer. They won't believe me when I say there's a green monster in the way."

There was a moment of silence and then a deep sigh. Tony shifted as he exchanged a look with the other people on the Bridge. Loki wasn't there, which perhaps was a good thing considering the outrageous smirk he would have sported if he where.  
_  
"Oh boy..."_

Thor really was getting the hang of the correct use of Earth expressions.


	11. Chapter 11

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry about taking so long to get this up. I've been on vacation as well as being hooked on the Avengers Academy game.

"We're moving," noted Rogers from his seat by the still unconscious Ronan's bedside. "That was fast."

He was right. They had all felt the vibrations of the ship shift as it slowed down only a few minutes ago, and now they were off again. 

"The Nova Corp only deposited an inspector aboard," said JARVIS. "They understood your urgency to catch up with our friends. Also having Thor wrestling the Hulk in front of them gave some gravitas to our plight for urgency."

"How is he?" asked Rogers. 

"Hulk has been returned to the airlock, but he has also returned to his agitated state. Though I don't believe it's as bad as we are in need of ejecting him from the ship."

Loki huffed at this as he stood up from his resting place. Of course the Nova Corp would be impressed enough with Thor being onboard to only leave one person behind. If Loki had been there then there would probably be a raid. 

"An inspector?" Rogers frowned. "What for?"

"To take our statements about the attack," explained JARVIS. "Though much more likely to spy on us because we are in a manner new to the neighbourhood."

"That's more likely indeed," Loki sighed. 

\----------------- 

 

Natasha took another deep breath. Her usual calming techniques wasn't doing their job. 

Dummy had just left for the Conservatory with the two dogs to let them relive themselves. Since the robot had taken Cow for walks several times the dog had been completely calm when being carefully carried by the machine.

Other could be said for the new dog, who had greeted everybody as if the world ended every time they were apart. The young animal had been running circles around everyone before bolting on ahead down the corridor with Dummy slightly speeding after him. 

Nat looked between Jane sleeping on her bed, the twins sleeping in their cot, and then at her own baby in her arms. Very little of it felt real. 

For the first time since she discovered that she was pregnant her body had turned against her. More accurately, it had betrayed her. 

She remembered being pregnant, and all the changes and feelings that that had entailed. She remembered the love and the connection she had formed to the growing creature inside her belly. She remembered it so clearly... But now it was gone. 

This was her child, her daughter, her Pumpkin. She knew it in her mind, but her body told her nothing of the sort. 

The Reality Stone had brought her back to life, but it had also returned her old body. The body that had never been pregnant. The old body that was barren, both accidentally and purposefully damaged. There were no hormones running through her telling her that this child was hers, nor that she was the one to take care of it. 

Still, even if she knew something was missing, she loved the little girl more than she could ever describe. It was really screwed up. 

Somehow it felt like she was an adoptive mother of her own child. Her only hope was that her body soon would follow her mind, especially if Clint was there to help her. It would probably be easy to fix her feelings with the Mind Stone, but for the moment Natasha had had enough of the stupid Stones. She had no desire to ever see one again. 

Though she knew that she soon would be forced to meet with one of the Stones again. She would need to take Loki's potion, and so would Pumpkin. It wasn't something to look forward to, but if it would protect them from illness, and get rid of the irritating universal translator stuffed in her ear, it would be worth it. 

Natasha wished Clint was there. He was a fool to let himself be caught when he ought to have more important things to focus on. 

She looked closer at the baby who looked back at her with nearsighted big green-blue eyes. 

"You have your father's nose," Nat smirked. "You'll grown into it, hopefully..." She sighed. "We got to get that idiot back. It would be a shame for you to miss out on using him as target practice as you grow up." 

There was the sudden three tone jingle of a communication hail.  
_  
"Stark to Romanoff"_

"Here."

 _"I hate to ask you this, hot baby mama, but are you capable to fill in on the Bridge? Hill and Sam really need to rest, and I have to deal with this Nova person. Coulson agreed to copilot."_

"I'm okay," Nat took a strengthening breath, she was going to get her baby daddy back. Also, note to self: never call him that again. 

_"Great! I'm sending Steve over to babysit for you."_

"That'll be interesting," Nat shook her head at Pumpkin. "I might need to wake Jane up for this."

\----------- 

Bucky gave his boyfriend an encouraging smile. Steve looked a bit nervous, but he wasn't someone who turned away from a challenge. Just look how advanced he had gotten at yoga lately. Though that was probably not comparable to taking care of infants. 

Kingsley followed as well as he needed to change Jane's dressings and test out the new experimental formula. 

Bucky was left in the Med-bay watching over an unconscious blue possible time bomb and a irritated demigod. He really got all the good missions, didn't he? Though if he had to choose he'd rather be here than the other two tasks of either babysitting or Hulksitting. 

If he had Steve's morals he might had offered to take over Hulksitting and let Thor see his children. But then again Thor was the only one who could fight Hulk on his own, both Steve and Bucky would need help of the other not to be completely pummelled. 

Also, Bucky admitted even more, if you would ask anyone to take care of newborns you'd rather ask Steve than him or Thor. 

"What are you thinking about?" asked Loki carefully stretching his arms to work out some kinks in his back without doing to damage to himself. 

"Steve," Bucky shrugged. 

"Why am I not surprised? You two are joined to the hip, even when you're not in the same room."

Bucky rolled his eyes. He was well aware of his and Steve's closeness. It was something that they both enjoyed, especially since they had discovered the sexual aspect of it. 

"Just because you don't think about Tony..."

"Oh, I think about Anthony..." Loki got to his feet, holding a protective hand over his belly as he did. "At the moment I'm thinking about how he conveniently left the Reality Stone in the middle of the room in a very easy-to-knock-over place."

Bucky looked over at the bronze-coloured cylinder shaped canister standing next to the wall. Well, that was clearly not the best place for it. There had been so much going on that none of them had noticed. 

"Should we do something?"

"No, not _we_ , but I suggested _you_ should do something."

"Me? Why?"

"I thought you were the smart soldier," Loki gave him a glare. "Obviously neither Ronan nor I are in any shape to take care of it. Put it back in Banner's vault."

"But..." Bucky glanced at Ronan. 

"He's fine. I'll be here."

That wasn't as comforting as it should have sounded. 

Then again, Bucky wasn't that worried about Ronan. He knew basically everything about remembering himself and regaining uncomfortable memories. The Kree was going to be fine, eventually. But it was that 'eventually' that bothered him. 

Though he realised that Loki was right and the frugality to argue with him. Bucky got up from his seat by Ronan's side with a sigh and walked over to the canister. 

He lifted with his metal arm. For a moment he got a phantom tingle running through his non-existing nerves. It was like every hair on his arm stood on its end. It was a strange feeling he had forgotten ever existed in that limb. It brought him right back to 1939 when he and Steve had visited the New York World Fair and got fascinated with a machine creating static electricity. 

The thought that whatever was inside this thing could restore his arm to flesh and blood was both at the same time exciting and terrifying. He wouldn't want to do it, the metal was part of his identity now, but just the thought...

"Are you well?" Loki asked as he gingerly sat down on the vacated chair next to Ronan. 

"I'm fine," Bucky huffed and, perhaps a bit too dismissingly, put the canister under his arm. "I'll be right back. Don't wake him, let him do it for himself."

"You're the expert," Loki rolled his eyes. "Apparently."

Bucky gave him a suffering look, but in opposite to Steve who was his usual recipient, Loki wasn't at all affected by it. Bucky could respect that. 

As he was about to leave the doors to the Med-bay opened. 

"And here we have our patented 'Reformed Villains' Club'," said Tony in his best tour guide-voice. "Some of them are indisposed at the moment, but rest assured that they are totally on our side. Guys, this is Sub-commander Tein. She's here to take our statements."

A tall, and slightly muscular, woman in a grey and black uniform stepped into the room. She seemed quite young but definitely well experienced judging from her face, eyes, and movements. Her skin was as dark as Sam's but her eyes were as light as Steve's. Her hair was short and very red.

She looked immediately to Ronan on the bed. And then she turned her attention to Loki. She seemed slightly nervous, to a trained eye she even looked scared. Tony was oblivious to her inner turmoil and grinned his usual leer towards Loki. 

"How you doing, Babe?"

"Call us 'reformed villains' again and you will not live to ask me again."

"He's my boyfriend, well, my fiancé-to-be if he'll have me," Tony told Tein proudly. "We joke around a lot."

Loki huffed and murmured something incomprehensible, but probably rude, under his breath. Probably something about the stupid hint of a upcoming proposal. Tony continued smiling. Bucky felt awkward. 

"What do you have there?" Tein turned to Bucky. 

"I'm going to put it away," Bucky shifted his stance to a more rigid one. 

He noticed Tony slightly widening his eyes in realisation and then momentarily looking guiltily to Loki. The man was in for a scolding later, and he knew it. He would probably like it too, the kinky bastard. Bucky straightened up even more and put on his best on-the-job-face, which was quite good. The sub-commander narrowed her eyes. 

"That wasn't what I asked." She looked him over, stopping only momentarily at his metal arm. "That is a grade 'A' protective canister. You rarely see them outside restricted areas."

"Well..." Tony jumped forward with his business voice "...this _is_ a restricted area."

"The Med-bay is restricted?"

"Special circumstances," Tony continued professionally. "We are lifting that now, so that's why I'm having my best man carry it back to it's proper place."

"Your best man is a former adversary of yours?"

"That's just how freaking great we are at reformation!"

Bucky had a hard time giving a polite smile at that comment. Tony patted his good arm. 

"Go on, put it back, and then grab something to eat while you are at it. Loki and JARVIS will keep an eye on Ronan."

"Yes, sir," Bucky gave a nod. 

He cringed a little as he walked out. He didn't like calling Tony 'sir', but Tony was in a way his superior and old habits die hard. Anyway, it probably sounded better in front of their guest. 

As he headed for Bruce's lab he pondered over if he should eat by himself, or brave the nursery to be with Steve. He was a bit tempted telling his boyfriend that he just had taken over the position of the 'best man' aboard.

\----------- 

 

Loki gave his statement to Tein and a somewhat reluctant kiss to Anthony. He couldn't say much to the former since he had been taken care of Jane at the time of the attack. There were some things he wanted to say to Anthony, but it was better suited for behind closed doors. 

Honestly, sometimes Loki couldn't understand why he loved the man so much. Anthony was very lucky that Loki did, and had such a deep and complex personality. 

It hadn't escaped Loki that Anthony was dropping hints of an upcoming proposal. It actually scared him. It was hard enough keeping up their relationship as it was now with minimum physical intimacy. As he didn't already feel enough anger and shame over being insufficient in their relationship, the prospect of adding on to it was terrifying. 

"I'm surprised to see you and your brother here, your highness."

Loki looked up at Tein in slight shock. It had been a long time since someone had addressed him with that epithet. He quickly schooled his features. 

"We are a part of this crew, sub-commander," he adjusted his shirt, slightly irritated that it was of Midgardian design and had a club-wielding man riding on a horse embroidered on it. "Thor sees it a work experience before he takes the throne, while I have made a choice to be with the man I love."

"Aw, sweetie," Anthony mockingly smiled. "I love you too."

"Shut up." Loki crossed his arms, mostly to support his injury, but also to look nonchalant. "Have you heard from the Guardians again?"

"They're near the dodgy space station and have positively confirmed that the pirates are there..."

"Their fraction is called 'Marauders'," said Tein. 

"That's just too ridiculous to say out loud," Anthony rolled his eyes. "Anyway, now we can can go there ourselves."

"How long will that take?" She looked down at a time-display attached to her arm. 

Anthony glanced to a screen close by. 

"Can you count to five?"

"What?" 

"Never mind," Anthony touched the screen. "We're here. JARVIS, how's the AA doing?"

Loki sighed, of course the Arc Accelerator would get abbreviated. Still, the speed it created was quite impressive, especially knowing that this hadn't even been close to maximum speed. 

_"Romanoff to Stark,"_ came from the closest speaker. _"We are being hailed. Apparently they want some kind of a parking fee. Though I think it's more of a bribe for them to not scavenge our ship."_

"Let them try," Anthony gave a small laugh. "We're leaving Thor and Hulk behind since they would attract too much attention. I pity anyone trying to steal from us." 

"Just pay the fee," Loki felt he needed to temporarily be the voice of reason. "If we don't do it we will just antagonise them against us."

"Though," Tein remarked. "If you do pay they'll probably see you as an easy target, and might take advantage of you later. Like asking for an even bigger fee to allow you to leave."

"It's fine," Anthony took a breath. "Nat?"  
_  
"Yes?"_

"Pay them the fee they are asking for, but make them understand that we aren't the type of people they want to overprice."

 _"Got it."_

There was a sound of a baby whimpering and Nat giving some soothing hushes. Anthony raised an eyebrow. 

"Nat, you got Pumpkin with you on the bridge?"

 _"Of course I have. What kind of mother do you think I am?_

Anthony seemed to be ready to say something inappropriate so Loki quickly gave him a threatening sign to shut up about it and say something nice instead. Anthony blinked. 

"Err... The best kind?" 

_"Damn right. Romanoff out._

The short musical thrill of her signing off was heard. Loki sighed and gave Anthony a patient look. 

"She's obviously a bit sensitive of her mothering skills." He shifted slightly on the chair without really finding a good position. "Her body and mind are sending her mixed signals. She needs to get used to it, and you need to respect that."

"Fine," Anthony sighed. "I guess the kid's too young to accidentally push any important buttons. But sooner or later we're going to need to set up a kindergarten. Do you think You would look cute in an apron?"

"You better be asking about the robot, because if you are not, then you already know the answer to that question."

"I hate it when you tease me like that." Anthony gave Loki a faked frustrated look. "Anyway..." he dusted off non existent dust of his hands and turned leeringly to Tein. "Do you want to see come back to my room and watch me change into my space suit?"

Tein just raised an eyebrow. Loki gave a stifled laugh. 

He watched them leave the Med-Bay, Anthony threw him a kiss before the doors closed. 

"They're gone," Loki told Ronan. 

"Good."

The blue man grunted as he pushed himself to a seating position, turning his body so that his knees bent over the edge of the bed. He wasn't wearing a shirt, several different sized scars covered his muscled arms and torso. There was no doubt that he was a warrior, even though his slumped shoulders and pensive eyes could attest to the contrary. 

"Thank you for not telling on me," Ronan rubbed his lightly stubbled head, frowning at the coarseness of the tiny hairs. 

Loki had noticed that Ronan had been awake for a while now. He looked him over. He already knew the answer to that be question he was about to ask. 

"How much do you remember?"

Ronan took a deep breath and met Loki's eyes. 

"Enough."


	12. Chapter 12

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And we are back! I'm so, so sorry about the unapologetically long hiatus. I needed to take a mental break from writing to comeback rested and full of ideas. But enough about that.   
> I will do my best to update this every week. Three more chapters are already in the bank and more are on the way.

Tony let the Iron Man suit close around him. He tested out the updated joints and displays. JARVIS was plugged in. He then let the suit fold itself up and backwards into a, only slightly conspicuous, backpack. In an emergency it would deploy and cover his body in three seconds. 

He was wearing his tight black under-suit and a grey hoodie. It wasn't his best look, but it would do for this place. Anyway, he had left all his designer suits on Earth where they now most likely adorned job-seeking collage students who had hit the jackpot in their local Manhattan charity shop. 

He felt quite excited by the prospect of visiting his first alien market place, even if it was a nest of thieves. Loki had told him not to get his hopes up because of the obvious seediness of the place. There would most likely be fencing, trafficking, smuggling, and violence at every corner. 

These were just some of the reasons Tony had paused for a moment at the ship's threshold and with a sardonic smile questioned if Steve really should come with them. 

"What if you gets the vapours, or feel the need to go off and rescue a alien kitten?"

Both Steve and Bucky had looked at him as if they were not so secretly wishing to cook him over a slow fire. None of them had any humour and Tony pitied them. 

"I doubt I will," said Steve darkly. 

Thor had volunteered to come with them, but he would be too conspicuous even in a disguise. He and Hulk would stand by as possible distractions if needed. That is to say, Thor would let Hulk go and then pull him back when the would-be-thieves where throughly discouraged. 

Nat, Pumpkin, and JARVIS had the Bridge. Jemma was there as well monitoring the monitoring of the perimeter. They would be ready if the ship needed a fast getaway. 

Steve had made some alterations to his Captain America uniform during the journey, and this was the first time that Tony had seen it in its new form. The star on the chest was gone, so were the red, white, and blue. The uniform was now in neutral greys with a black jacket and black tool belt with holsters. He looked kind of like himself from the old black and white war newsreels, but much more badass. 

He still had the unaltered shield, but it was left onboard so that Steve wouldn't attract the wrong kind of attention due to its official looking design that could alert bad guys that he actually wasn't a badass but a warrior for justice, apple pie, and cute beasts with big eyes. 

Speaking of Bucky, he was wearing his usual Winter Soldier black, one of Steve's grey hoodies covered his arms. They had managed to talk him out of the eye makeup and leather mask. Tony's joke about keeping it in the bedroom hadn't gotten the humours reaction he wanted, though it might have given Bucky and Steve some ideas that he wasn't jealous of at all. 

_"The Guardians are waiting for you outside."_ said Nat from the closest monitor. _"The hatch is opening."_

She had been a bit pissed over not being able to join them on their rescue mission. Pumpkin would have been perfectly safe with Jane and the others, but Nat was the only one on the crew that hadn't gotten her share of Loki's potion. There was no telling what kind of germs and viruses would be flying around this place. 

"Thanks," Tony nodded at the camera. "Don't worry. We'll bring your hubby back in one piece."

She didn't answer but her look over the monitor was marginally thankful. The hatch lowered itself down to the dusty cemented ground creating a ramp. 

Tony glanced to Tein who was standing a bit to the side, out of sight from the outside. She had borrowed some clothes from Nat instead of the uniform. This place was not safe for a lone Nova Corp officer even to be sighted in. She gave him a nod that he interpreted as a good luck. He gave her a wink. 

She had offered to guide Coulson while he looked around the market. Just because it was a rescue mission on a pirate space station didn't mean they shouldn't miss the opportunity to perhaps restock, or to find cool stuff for the ship. 

"Wait."

Tony turned to see Loki and Ronan walking towards them. For a moment Tony was worried that Loki was going to accuse him of flirting with Tein, but then again Loki had never really cared about things like that. 

"We are coming with you," said Loki. 

They were both in all black except for Ronan wearing a red jacket that most likely belonged to Thor. Loki had something that reminded of a laced leather girdle on, it looked kind of sexy, but Tony knew it was for keeping the bandages around his midriff protected and secure. 

"Are you sure?" Tony asked, glancing between the two of them. "I mean, aren't you injured?"

And wasn't Ronan potentially very dangerous? Not that Tony was worried, he liked the guy, but the potential to go back to his old ways must be in there somewhere. He really hoped that Ronan would take advantage of this second chance. 

"Do I usually say things twice?" Loki glared down at him, using his hight as a advantage. 

"No, it's fine," Tony said quickly. "Ronan, how are you feeling? Revengeful? Murderous?"

"Neither," Ronan looked towards the outside. "Apprehensive."

"That's fair." 

What else would a former maniac warlord feel the first time he went out in public after loosing and then regaining his memory? Tony would be a bit apprehensive as well. 

As they walked down the ramp the first thing he noticed was that Groot, the childlike tree-person had now grown to an impressive hight of almost three meters. The fertiliser they had given him had really worked some kind of magic. 

Then Rocket kicked Tony painfully in the shin. 

"Fucking idiots! You gave him his memories back?"

\----------------- 

 

"You!" 

A deep voice woke Clint from his longing musings about Natasha. Was she all right? Had she gotten his last message? Was he a father? Did the baby have his eyes or hers...?

"You!" repeated the man even louder this time. "Do you want to try your luck? Challenge the champion? Win a prize!"

A tall blue man, though not a Kree, with spiky black hair and a bright red vest pointed directly at Clint with one of four fingers. He was tall and muscular in a wiry way. Also, Clint knew an archer when he saw one. 

The man grandly gestured back to a booth set up as a shooting range. Clint almost laughed out loud. He had worked at something similar in his youth at the circus, hustling people out of their money with fake onlookers, tampered bows and targets, and misdirections. 

"No, thanks," Clint tried to move on. 

"What is it?" asked the man mockingly, slightly invading Clint's personal space. "Are you scared of a little challenge? Come on! Try your luck!"

"I don't have anything to bet against you," Clint tried to get away. "And I'm busy looking for a friend."

"What about one of your females?" The Hustler was eying Darcy with a very interested once over. 

Darcy gave a disgusted face. The hems of her and Careet's short white dresses peaking out from under their stolen shirts was a symbol that they were servants. It protected Clint from sexual harassment since people thought he had high status to have two beautiful servants. On the other hand, he was constantly getting offers from people wanting to buy the girls. 

He had noticed from observation that gender wasn't as a big issue as on Earth, though the attributes of beauty and strength were still high on the list. Apparently, that was why he himself had brought such high hopes to the Marauders. He was still hesitant if this was flattering or not. 

Darcy hadn't been happy about it, but had agreed to keep her mouth closed for the time being. They would need some new clothes soon though, she wasn't going to hold her discontent inside for much longer. Clint had some troubles himself, being more used to taking orders than giving them. 

It was impossible to tell how long it would take to find Leo, or for their friends to find them. They would also need to buy some food quite soon. Clint looked the fixed setup over. 

"And what if I win? What's the prize?"

Darcy and Careet looked at him, but neither protested. 

"The grand prize is currently a thousand pieces."

"Is that much?" Clint asked Careet. 

"Yes," she nodded slowly. 

The Hustler grinned at the discovery of Clint's non-existing economic knowledge. The perfect mark. 

It was an easy set up. Three round targets, about the size of a dinner plate, about ten paces away. Each target were divided in four quarters, each a different colour for different points. The summary of the points seemed to be done electronically by a small scoreboard. 

A few weapons reminding Clint slightly of toy crossbows lay on a table nearby. There were real short-range bows and arrows as well. His own bow was folded together on his back, he doubted anyone could tell what it was, if they could they wouldn't have picked him out of the crowd.   
_  
"Master_," Darcy's tone of voice clearly showed her disgust for the word and Clint couldn't blame her. "With respect, I don't think you should waste your time on this."

He glanced at her. She gave him a pointed glare. She wanted him to do it. Probably for the money, though it was also possible that she wanted him to avenge her for being insulted. He was an Avenger after all. 

"Yeah..." Clint started to move away. "It wouldn't be worth it. We need to keep looking for..."

There were some disappointed sounds from the small gathered audience. The game was obviously popular around here. If it was for the entertainment of the challenge or the glee over seeing marks loose their possessions was hard to tell. Most likely it was a bit of both. 

"Wait!" The Hustler blocked his path again. "Are you going to take advice from a mere servant? How about if I challenge you? Or are you scared to embarrass yourself? Perhaps I know something about your friend?."

Clint held back his laughter with a firm master-spy frown. The Hustler was pulling out the big guns. 

"Fine," he said and and squared his shoulders. "But I want to ask you about my friend either way."

The man gave a graceful nod that could mean anything. Clint picked up one of the strange crossbows and looked it over. It seemed quite simple, but Clint had since long learned not to trust anything that looked simple. That was how he survived. 

"How does this thing work?" 

The Hustler smirked as he explained the crossbow. He thought he had already won. 

The crossbow was small enough to hold in one hand. It fired neon-yellow darts about the size of tranquillisers. The darts were sharp, but not sharp enough for an ordinary man to use as a effective weapon. Clint wasn't an ordinary man. He could probably do some serious damage with these. 

Several other people seemed to be interested in his movements, though he wasn't sure as yet how many of them were in cahoots with the Hustler. He guessed that at least half of them knew about the scam. A blue woman in a big grey cape, and carrying a small cage with a very furry cat-sized animal inside, seemed particularly interested in them. 

He wondered what the scam was, the targets must be either nailed down or movable. Maybe the wires to the scoreboard were crossed in some way. 

Darcy was whispering something to Careet, probably something about staying calm. They were holding hands. Careet whispered something back, Darcy's eyes darted over the small crowd and then turned to whisper again. Clint wished he knew what they were talking about, he couldn't read their lips from his current angle. 

The Hustler had a better view and had greedily been eyeing the women. Careet was extremely beautiful, and Darcy wasn't that bad off either. Very childbearing hips, to say it nicely. Darcy was glaring contemptuously back at him, which somehow seemed to make her even more desirable to the man. 

Clint smirked almost unnoticeable. If he lost her she would give the Hustler hell. Also, if Hulk were to come and claim his girlfriend back there was hardly anyone around that could stop him. Not that he planned to loose her, or Careet. 

"We each take turns to shoot," the Hustler smiled. "Five shots each, best score wins. It's as simple as that."

"You first," Clint gave a nod. 

The Hustler nodded and raised his small crossbow towards the targets. As he did the disks began to slowly rotate about the speed of an old LP, about 30 turns per minute. Clint was even more amused but only reacted by breathing a short 'huh'.

The first dart hit a colour field with a low score, a classic trick to lure the mark into a false sense of confidence. Strange symbols depicting numbers flashed up in the scoreboard, Clint was surprised that he could understand them. This Allspeak really was useful. 

Because of the scam Clint was prepared to miss his first shot, and he almost did. The dart hit the very edge of the target on a medium score. He weighed the weapon in his hand, it aimed to the right. He made some quick adjustments in his head. The gravity of this place was only slightly heavier than on the ship. 

"Not bad," said he the Hustler and fired off his next shot. 

It hit the good side of the edge of the high score area. It was a great shot, but Clint had figured out the trick. While his own crossbow was almost unnoticeably crooked, the Hustler's weapon was equipped with an invisible laser sight. 

It was almost an insult to his own background were he had trained for countless and more hours to be the best on what he did. Sure, he let Tony put laser sights on all his bows now, but he seldom turned them on and he never ever relied fully on them. It was just an useful aid in a quick paced fight or a guide when he had to take the fabled 'only shot that mattered'. 

Clint wordlessly took his next shot, aiming a bit off-centre. It hit almost right next to the Hustler's, but a bit further in. The scoreboard showed him slightly in the lead. Clint adjusted his stance to get serious. 

The small crowd mumbled. Someone gruffed a laugh. Careet made a small excited jump. The Hustler looked a bit surprised. 

The Hustler's next shot was dead centre in the highest score. He grinned viscously. 

Clint raised his arm and made a shot that dislocated the Hustler's last dart from the target.

The Hustler muttered suspiciously and hit the rotating target with a dart nestling in right next to Clint's. 

Clint took aim again and blew away both his own old dart and the Hustler's latest. The onlookers gasped. 

The Hustler raised his crossbow for the fifth shot. The target started rotating at double the speed. Any dart that was still on there came lose and was thrown out the sides. He fired. It hit on the high score again. 

Clint easily shot the dart away. It felt good to be back into saddle again. 

The scoreboard showed Clint the winner. Darcy patted his back. He gave her a smile before turning to his defeated challenger. 

"You tricked me," said the Hustler. 

"You're getting off easy," Clint put down the small crossbow. "At least you'll be getting more clients now when they know you can lose."

The Hustler gave him a thoughtful look. 

"You wouldn't have wanted her anyway," Clint gave him half a smile. "She's a handful, and you wouldn't want to meet her boyfriend when he's angry."

 

\---------------

Tony was totally transfixed by the place. It was a real space station, in outer space. It was also a den of cutthroats, thieves, and mad scientists. 

Questionable street vendors and shady salesmen called out their goods, pimps called out theirs. Beggars, urchins, and drunks scurried around in the background. Rough looking people moved in groups trying to find willing, or unwilling, members to their gangs. 

Bucky had gotten several offers to join up, Steve had refused them all on his behalf. 

"I am Groot,"' said the tall tree person to Tony's left. 

"Yeah," agreed the raccoon who was relaxing on one of the wooden shoulders. "Where did they go?"

"Who?" Tony looked away from a crate full of strange circuit cards he had caught sight of. 

"Your sully boyfriend and our former asshole that might or might not be a homicidal maniac."

"I am Groot."

"And our galant leader is with them."

Loki, Ronan, and Star Lord. What a dream team. Tony wasn't worried, he was more disappointed that he couldn't see it. 

They had left Gamora and Drax on the ship. The two of them had been slightly injured in their last mission and was letting Kingsley look them over. It wasn't anything serious, but they had decided to sit out this round. 

Anyway, Groot and Rocket were creating enough attention on their own. 

"Is it okay?" Steve eyed a group of pirate-wannabes who were looking their way. "Letting them out of our sight?"

"They can handle themselves." Tony continued walking, keeping an eye out for cool technology, and of course their friends. 

"That's what I'm afraid of," Steve followed. "Ronan got his memory back."

"Loki vouches for him," Tony shrugged. 

Rocket nodded. 

"If the prickhead haven't killed anyone or tried to blow up a planet, I'll say leave him to it. I've stopped caring at this fucking point."

"I hope you are right," Steve sighed. "I really like him as a friend and would hate to fight him."

"I am Groot," commented Groot. 

"Yeah," Rocket snickered maliciously. "He totally has a crush on Quill."

Tony hummed as he contemplated the difference between 'prickhead' and 'dickhead' and wondered which was more insulting in space. He also was amazed how much Rocket had sounded like a teenage girl just then. 

He was stumped in his musings by a tone from his belt. It was a tone he hadn't heard since they left Earth. For a moment he was confused, but then he did what was natural and answered his phone. 

"Hello?"

 _"Anthony,"_ Loki's voice was in his ear. 

"Babe! Did you know my phone works here?"

" _I'm calling you, you imbecile."_

"Yes, you are, my love. What's up?"

Loki groaned.   
_  
"We have located Doctor Fitz. We are at an establishment named 'Gwar's bar'..."_

"Catchy name."  
 _  
"There is no sign of the others though."_

"We're on our way. See you there, babe." He hung up and turned to Rocket. "'Gwar's bar'?"

"Know it," said the furry beast as he picked his claws with his sharp teeth. "It's where the tech-heads go to get drunk and battle robots."

"Rocket, my dear little hairy friend, I believe you just said some of my most favourite words and put them in a sentence."


	13. Chapter 13

"Sooo...."

Loki rolled his eyes again. Quill was more talkative than even Anthony, and that man never shut up. 

They were standing next to the bar with the idiotic name. The name wasn't as idiotic in its native tongue, but it was enough to guess the creativity level of its namer. Loki wasn't even sure if he wanted to call it a bar. 

It was basically just a large area where killer-robots were pitted against each other in a cacophony of noise, and a large quantity of alcohol being served next to it. If it was even possible, he would say it was even more barbaric than the celebratory war games back in Asgard. Thor loved those games, Loki usually stayed in his room as much as he could during those times. 

He was glad Thor had stayed onboard the ship. 

Doctor Fitz had been taken through a halfway hidden door at the back of the bar. It was hard to see it because of all the ruckus of the robot fighting. At the moment there were three humanoid robots and four more machine-like beasts fighting in the small arena. Sparks and parts were flying. 

Loki feared what was going to happen when Anthony arrived. He almost regretted calling him. 

"So, you are sure you are all right?"

"Quill," Loki hissed through his teeth. "I think Ronan's answer hasn't changed since the last time you asked, or the time before that, or the time before that."

He was a bit tense due to ignoring the pain of the reopened wound in his gut. His mental blocking techniques wasn't working as well as before. He hadn't dared to ask Anthony for access to the Mind Stone due to their recent fight. He was irritated with himself for becoming lazy and out of practice with his coping of the pain. Quill wasn't making it better by his inability to comprehend the situation. 

"I know," Quill said in a slightly whiny voice. "It's just so hard to understand."

"It is for me too," Ronan glared at the rowdy bar patrons around them, and then turned to Loki. "Is it right of me to feel vastly superior to everyone here?"

"Absolutely."

"Good."

Loki had given Ronan some personal advice that he thought the Kree should take to heart, or at least under consideration. He had told him his own philosophy about how life was a continuous choice, decided by considering your planned future, your present condition, and the value of the people around you. Ronan had gotten a unique opportunity to be another person, not unlike Loki himself, though much less mind-controlled. 

Ronan had more or less a blank slate since he was considered officially dead by the law. He also had no heirs so his fortune were his own to claim by Kree law. He was, also by that law, totally in his rights to gather an army and go back to his old ways, though if he did all of his new friends would turn their back on him and fight against him. 

The best he could do was to reform his old self to fit his new and hope for the best. Loki lived like that every day, so why couldn't Ronan? 

It would probably be easier with some help. Like Anthony had helped Loki. 

He glanced towards Quill who seemed to be going through an inner struggle why he even was there with the two of them. He had a hard time seeing what Ronan saw in the human, but then again, Ronan had asked Loki the same about Anthony earlier and Loki hadn't been able to answer him without going to several incomprehensible metaphors. 

Loki sighed and rubbed his belly carefully over the bandage wrapped around his middle under the leather waist-holder. He didn't like to show himself vulnerable, especially in a place like this where almost everyone around was dependent on utilising the weakness of others. 

"What are they going to do with him?" asked Ronan. 

"Fitz?" Quill looked around. "Judging by this place, I think they are going to make him built fighting robots. A good mechanic is worth a lot of units in some circles."

"This is a popular sport then?"

"Popular?" Quill widened his eyes. "Seriously? Dude, it's like one of the most popular in the galaxy. Why do you think they kidnap engineers? Are you sure you got all of your memories back?"

"I might remember hearing something about it," Ronan straightened his already straight back and looked even more disgusted with his surroundings. "It seemed a very crude entertainment for the masses."

"Of course we have nothing like this on Asgard," Loki agreed. "Fighting by proxy would not be honourable."

"That I agree with," nodded Ronan. 

"I guess it's not a game for rich snobs," huffed Quill, kicking the ground, even though the ground was a very dirty metal floor. 

"Then why don't you explain it?" smiled Loki in a grin that very much tried to disregard that last comment. "I am _of course_ not interested, because from what I've gathered magic is considered cheating, but I'm sure Ronan would love to let you tell him all about it."

Quill seemed a bit surprised over this, and even more surprised when Ronan actually agreed with the suggestion. Loki smirked as the two of them walked closer to the fighting ground. 

\-------------

 

Darcy pulled on a big, loose, brown sweater. It hung from one of her shoulders, hid her hands, and reached her knees. Perhaps with a tight blue dress underneath it would be quite fashionable on an avantgarde runway in New York, here it was like camouflage. 

It felt good to not be as noticeable, also not being classified as Clint's property. Even though males and females seemed more equal here than on Earth, her fair feminist heart had found several grudges to hold. 

She preferred not to think where the clothes in the small second hand stall came from. There were plenty of clothes there with holes, rips, and even some bloodstains. Darcy really hoped it was from ware and tare, and not from grave robbing. The truth probably lay in between. 

Careet had gotten hold of a long piece of green embroidered fabric that she had wrapped around her body like a complete expert. Her smooth pink skin peeked out just in the right places. She was gorgeous and Darcy wasn't jealous at all. 

She glanced to Clint. He had his back to them, both being courteous not to look at them and protecting them from others who didn't have the same good morals as he. 

He was mostly fixated on a blue skinned woman cloaked in a long dark brown cape who was standing close by, seemingly browsing the stall's merchandise. She was holding a steel cage with something very furry inside. The owner of the stall was hoovering suspiciously next to her. 

Darcy recognised the woman from the audience by the sharpshooting range. She must have followed them here. 

The Hustler had told them to look for either robot repair shops, or places were robots were fought. If Leo had proved himself a good mechanic, then those places would be the most likely he would be taken to. The biggest place for such things was a place called Gwar's Bar, which was a stupid name. 

They had stopped on the way to spend some of Clint's winnings on a change of clothes. Clint was happy with what he had on, but both Darcy and Careet were glad to change out of the white dresses. 

"We should just talk to her," Darcy told Clint. "This is just stupid."

"We're still evaluating each other," Clint said in an expressionless voice. "I know this dance. She'll come forward when she's ready. I don't think she is a threat to us. So far she's just curious."

Darcy sighed. Just by calling it a 'dance' made everything so much more stupid. Living with Bruce had learned her to hold back her impulses some, but in situations like these there was just one thing to do. Take control. She straightened her back. 

"Hi there!" she skipped over to the hooded blue woman. "I'm Darcy, that's Clint, and the pink lady is Careet. I couldn't help but to notice that you have been following us. Can we help you with anything?"

She heard Clint groan loudly behind her. The woman froze. The ball of fur in the cage growled. 

"What's in the cage? Is it your pet?"

"No," the woman's eyes glinted under the shadows of the cape, her voice was void of any emotion except ill conceived irritation. "It's my client."

"Oh..." Darcy looked down at the growling fur. "That's... interesting. By the way, do you know where we can find a place called Gwar's Bar? We are looking for a friend."

"Darce!" hissed Clint. 

Darcy ignored him. Careet was standing to the side looking mostly worried and confused. 

"Yes," the woman nodded. "This isn't that big of a place."

No, Darcy reminded herself, though it seemed so, it wasn't. They were on a alien space station. In space! She still had trouble adjusting to the thought. It was strange not to imagine this place as a seedy back town. With a metal roof instead of a sky and lights instead of a sun. She wondered if there were any windows, that would be awesome. 

"Since you are probably going to follow us there anyway, you can just as well show us the way."

The woman looked over Darcy's shoulder to Clint. 

"Fine," she gave a short nod.

"Cool," Darcy smiled. 

The woman huffed as if the small simple word confirmed a strong suspicion of hers. Darcy remembered someone telling her that Earth was the only place in the galaxy where the word 'cool' could be used as more than just an expression for temperature. It was kind of an obvious giveaway of origin. 

But then again, the woman knowing the meaning of the word, and there by of Earth, a backwards planet lightyears away, was a bit worrying. 

The woman was already walking as Clint paid the merchant for the clothes, they had to jog to catch up with her. 

"So who are you?" Clint asked. 

He seemed reluctant to leave the 'dance' but accepted it grudgingly since Darcy had basically pulled him off the dance floor. 

"I'm no one," she said with a sad sigh. "Just a simple mercenary."

"So why were you following us? Are you hired to do so, or looking to be hired by us?"

"Neither," there was a flash of a thin smile on her hooded face. "I was just curious about you. Terrans are very rare. I have so far only met one."

"I don't buy that. You only found out just now when you talked to Darcy that we are Terrans."

Clint took hold of her arm and roughly turned her around to face him. She reacted as on instinct. Without letting go of the cage she twisted his arm with her free hand, turned, ducked, kicked, turned again, and stopped herself just in time not to kick Clint in the ribs. She took a step back. Clint was on one knee, his arm placed perfectly to par her interrupted leg movement. 

"Impressive," he said as he got to his feet. 

A passerby grunted with slight irritation, disappointed that there wasn't going to be a fight. Careet was holding Darcy's hand. The hooded woman gave a frustrated sigh. 

"Fine," she breathed. "I was staking out Gwar's Bar when the Marauders brought your friend in. I tracked back to their ship, and then I found you."

"Why were you staking them out?" Darcy asked. 

"Because of this," she held up the cage. "It's a cluster."

"Oh?" 

Darcy had no idea that was. It looked like an multi-grey coloured afghan cat with a runaway hair problem. It was impossible to tell if she was looking at its face or its butt. It was cute though. 

"It's name is Bubbles," the woman sighed deeply and long suffering. "Short for Bubblelibubblebutt."

"Okay...?"

It didn't seem like a name a person like her would choose for a pet. She seemed more like a person who would name even the cutest little baby hamster 'Killer'. Clint snickered. The woman glared at him with near deathly intent. 

"I didn't name it."

"Wouldn't dream of thinking so," he was still smiling. 

"It's owner hired me as a bodyguard. He cared for the animal more than a child. When he was attacked he ordered me to take it and run... I didn't want to, but..." she took another breath, this one more sad "...but he had been so kind to me. Taking me in and caring for me when no one else did. I did as he said and ran. His remaining bodyguards couldn't save him..."

Clint nodded solemnly, his former tease forgotten. Darcy could see that he sympathised, perhaps even from personal experience. 

"So the ones who got our friend are the same's who killed your employer. That's why you were there. And now you want to work together with us to get close to them?"

"Yes."

"What's your name?"

The woman pushed back her cape slightly so that her face showed. She was bald, beautiful, blue skin, the area around her left eye was replaced with a kind of metal prosthetic. 

"Nebula," she said after a slight hesitation. 

Darcy thought she recognised the name, but it could also be from one of Jane's long enthusiastic ramblings about space. Careet gasped and hardened her grip on Darcy's hand. Darcy wanted to ask her if she recognised the name but it seemed a bit rude. 

"Nice to meet you," Clint kept smiling. "Lead the way."

Nebula looked surprised for a moment, but then gave a short nod. She was obviously expecting them to know her by name, just as Careet had done. 

She directed them through a path lined with street venders. There goods for sale was mostly consisting of mechanical parts, fenced goods, clothes, and weapons. A large tent was even selling some kinds of packed meats. 

"Oh. My. God." exclaimed Darcy. 

Only a few meters ahead of them walked Phil Coulson. 

 

\-----------

"I think he is broken," said Rocket standing on top of Anthony's backpack and waiving his paw in front of his face. 

"I am Groot."

"No, he's not drooling, yet."

"Should we do something?" asked Rogers worryingly. 

Loki just sighed patiently and shook his head. On arrival Anthony had only spared a short moment to ask for Loki's health before catching sight of the fighting robots. That had been what caused this amazed form of catatonic staring. 

"Just leave him be, he will be fine." 

Anthony was totally transfixed by the robots fighting, just as Loki had predicted he would. The man's fingers were twitching in anticipation to either pick the machines apart or join the fight himself, probably a combination of both. Loki considered letting him, Anthony had a lot of pent up energy from being so sexually respectful in their relationship. 

He sighed. Rogers and Barnes exchanged a look. 

"Hey!" Quill came up to them. "We found out were they took Leo. It's a kind of basement workshop, probably the owners of the place. 

"Any sign of the others?" asked Rogers. "Clint and Darcy?"

"They seem to have been left aboard the Marauder's ship. Ronan is heading back there now."

Loki smirked to himself. New old Ronan was clearly a show-off. 

"You let him go?" Rogers blinked. "By himself?"

"Loki said he was all right," Quill shrugged guiltily. "And I talked to him a bit... He..." he blushed ever so lightly "...he actually seemed nice." He blinked as if he caught himself, Andersson cleared his throat. "But mostly arrogant and elitist, of course."

"I am Groot," said Groot. 

"I hear ya, bud," Rocket's whiskers twitched. "It's fucking freakin' me out as well."

Quill reddened even more and gave his two teammates an irritated glare. 

"I better..." Rogers hesitated only for a moment. "I better assist him. Which way did he go?"

Quill pointed. 

"Right, I'll catch up to him." Rogers quickly kissed Barnes cheek and hurried off. 

"Doesn't he trust Ronan?" Quill shifted, clearly scared that he had done something wrong. 

"He's just worried," Barnes smiled fondly. "They have become friends, Steve doesn't want Ronan to fall off the wagon."

"What wagon?" asked Rocket. "I thought he was walking."

"I'm so turned on right now," said Anthony still staring wide eyed at the noisy fighting robots. "Loki, if you as much as breathe on me I'd come in my pants."

"Good thing I won't breathe on you then," Loki rolled his eyes. 

He cleared his throat. They had been lingering long enough and they were slowly getting some unwanted attention from the people around them. Most of the onlookers were starting at Groot, but also at Anthony and his obviously high-technology backpack that was visible even under a layer of fabric. 

"Shall we go and rescue Doctor Fitz then?"


	14. Chapter 14

Tony was actually a bit disappointed. He had expected something more of an alien robot warrior workshop. He was starting to regret not checking out the bar first. Alien alcohol, now there was something he could explore. 

They had just gotten word that Phil had found Clint and Darcy, which was a real moral booster to say the least. Tony had asked Steve to go meet them and take them back to the ship. Ronan had volunteered to accompany him. Tony had hesitated but a nod from Loki had convinced him to let Ronan leave. 

Bucky had asked them not to treat Ronan with too much suspicion until they knew for sure of his emotional state. Tony had no experience of Ronan in his 'bad guy' persona, but the things that he had heard were hard to overlook. 

For now, though, he was content with being happy over Clint and Darcy. 

The backroom of the bar-slash-fight club was awesome, don't get him wrong, but it wasn't... _alien_ enough. His own small tinkering room aboard the Heidrun was more exotic than this place. This place was like a car mechanic shop if the cars were robots. 

At least the robots were kind of cool. There were all types of them. All shapes and sizes from toaster-lookalikes to skinned Terminaors. Though it wasn't anything Tony couldn't have done in a week in his workshop back on Earth fuelled by too much coffee, alcohol, and sugar. 

Groot had been left outside to watch their backs. Loki was standing on Tony's right, Bucky on his left, Quill at his back, and Rocket next to his knees. All five of them acted casual, as if they hadn't knocked out three huge guards to get inside the mediocre workshop. 

A group of maybe seven futuristic biker dudes in various outrageous hairstyles and bad shaves were standing around the only really interesting thing in the room. Well, the only _two_ interesting things. The second one was Leo, the first was the thing that he was working on, a humanoid robot the size of Thor. 

Leo caught sight of them first. 

"Oh, thank goodness!" 

He had probably never sounded more British in his life. 

The futuristic bikers turned to look at them. Tony identified three of them as Marauders because of slight their differences in clothing. Those three were also the only ones who were smart enough look a little bit worried at the sight of them. 

"Who the fuck are you?" said one of the not so smart ones, unfortunately for him he seemed to be the one in charge.

"Don't mind us," Tony casually smiled. "We're just here to pick up something of ours."

"And what is that?" 

The leader took a threatening step forward. His was as muscly as the rest of them, where were all the fat and skinny and gangly pirates? His skin was reminiscent of caucasian under the ugly black tattoos and hair that was covering each a half of his face. Charming. 

"Him," Tony pointed to Leo. "The small smart guy, he's ours."

The leader laughed and then looked passed Tony's shoulder.

"Star-Lord, come to pay your debt?"

Why wasn't Tony surprised? Rocket made a noise clearly showing that he shared the sentiment. 

"Friend of yours?"

"Acquaintance." Peter sighed. "Tony Stark, Deacon Gwar. Deacon Gwar, Tony Stark."

"But you can call me _Commander_ Stark," Tony pushed his shoulders back, hoping that Loki would be impressed by his manly display. "And then you can give me my crewman back."

The man, Deacon Gwar, laughed again, this time more maliciously. The next moment a lot of big weapons were aimed their way. It was like a uproarious action movie where the hero accidentally stepped into a room of drug dealers. Tony hadn't thought it would be easy anyway. He heard exasperated sighs from both Loki and Bucky. 

"Wait," Tony quickly held up his hand towards his friends as if to hold them back. "Don't hurt them yet."

It was an absurd thing to say when standing apparently unarmed on the wrong side of a dozen alien weapons held by trigger happy pirates. It was so absurd it actually threw Deacan off for a moment. He actually glanced incredulously to Loki and Bucky. 

The two men must be just as surprised by Tony's words as Deacon was, but at least they were both too good actors not to show any of it. Their faces were hard and focused. Tony calmly continued. 

"My friends her could kill you before you pulled the trigger..."

As if Loki was reading his mind, which was not entirely impossible, a small green flames of magic appeared across his fingertips, they glistened against the shiny metal in Bucky's now exposed metal arm. It was a cheesy parlour trick, it took no more strain on Loki as if Tony would start to whistle. 

Deacon and his men didn't know that, so they shifted slightly. 

"...so why don't we do the civilised thing?" Tony grinned and nodded towards the robot behind them. "And fight for him? I'll even let him finish what ever upgrade you wanted him to do, _and_ I'll give him strict orders not to sabotage it."

"'Sa-bo-tage'?" Deacon looked suspicious. 

"It's just a word from his home planet," Loki explained with a sigh. "It means to impair something with intention to do so."

Tony frowned. 

"I thought I was speaking Allspeak."

"It's still a French word, dear," Loki sounded like a patient mother on the edge of her patience. 

It was a bit confusing but Tony let it slide, he could explore it later. He turned back to the pirates. Leo was staring wide-eyed at him from behind their backs. 

"You want to fight my champion?" Deacon lowered his weapon slowly. "For the scientistg?"

"Yes."

"And if I win?" 

Tony had been waiting for that. With a grin he activated his backpack. The Iron Man suit engulfed him. It was the latest model, shiny and had that lovely new-car smell that always turned him on. 

"If you win, You'll let him go and I'll take his place."

There was a moment of silence when his friends were shocked and his opponents were awed and confused by the suit. Then Loki grabbed hold of his arm and yanked him to the side. Loki was quite strong for an injured deceivingly scrawny-looking person. 

"Have you finally lost your mind?" he hissed. "We can defeat them without much effort."

Even if JARVIS wasn't registering Loki's temperature Tony would have known how cold his skin was. He could feel it even through the metal. Loki might be able to defeat the pirates, but to what prize? He was injured again, his body was fighting against him. It only resolved Tony's decision even more. 

"What kind of fun would that be," he gently patted Loki's hand away. "And I don't plan to loose. And if I do, just send Bruce and Thor to get me back. Besides, I want to see what these machines go for."

Loki stared at him for a part of a second. He was probably deciding if he was to be insulted or touched by the indication that he should stay out of it. Hesitation was a cute look on him. Loki gave a short nod, but it was clear that the matter wasn't dropped. 

Tony turned back to Deacon. 

"What do you say?"

"I want the armour as well."

"Then I want your... champion. Or what will be left of it when I'm finished with it."

"Deal," Deacon smiled and showed a horrific row of shark-like teeth.

"I feel so bad for his partner," Tony whispered to Bucky who just nodded a grunt. 

\-------------- 

Bucky was leaning against the side of the bar by the robot battleground. He had lazily been watching as the lesser robots had been ordered to stop fighting and Deacon Gwar announce through a cracked speaker that his Champion had been challenged. The news had brought the audience to a frenzy. 

Loki had tried to convince Stark to either pull back, negotiate better terms , or surrender. None of his pleas had worked. He was as at a disadvantage not being able to use sexuality to lure Stark away. Though if one said that out loud, one would probably get one's eats turned to that of a donkey. 

The rink was now being cleared and bets were being made. 

Iron Man and the Champion were standing still in the middle of the chaos, letting everyone have a good look and make their assessments. Iron Man was gleefully waiving and posing, making himself look like a fool. Bucky really, really, hoped it was a part of Tony's strategy, and not just one of his silly moods. 

Rocket was scurrying around everyone's legs, picking up loose parts, small screws, and basically whatever he could get his little furry paws on. As his distant relatives on Earth he was clearly a scavenger. Groot was standing patiently by, waiting for his friend and holding the sack in which Rocket put his loot. 

"In situations like these..." sighed Peter and emptied half his glass of whatever alcohol "...I pretend I don't know them."

"Funny," said Loki darkly. "I'm tempted to do exactly the same thing with Anthony at the moment."

Leo was standing on the other side of the rink, looking small and miserable next to the pirates. He had done what he had been told and worked on the Champion to the best of his ability. There was no question that Tony was the better mechanic between them, but Leo was younger and not as set in his ways of working. There could be surprises. 

Loki was tense and it showed when suddenly his mobile rang to the tune of 'rock you like a hurricane'. He huffed and handed it over to Bucky without even looking at it. 

"Hello?" Bucky put the phone to his ear. "This is Barnes speaking."  
 _  
"Barnes?"_ Phil Coulson's voice sounded a bit tense which was the first sign of trouble. _"Where are you? I can't hardly hear you."_

"Hold on."

Bucky got up and moved away from the boisterous crowd. He noticed that he was being followed by two men. They didn't do a good job of it. Muggers or pickpockets, Bucky almost felt bad for them. 

"What is it?" he asked into the phone.   
_  
"There has been some complications..."_ Coulson clearly hesitated, obviously uncomfortable that he was talking to Bucky. _"I couldn't get to Stark, so I tried Loki... Are they...?"_

A strange unidentifiable feeling began scratching in the back of Bucky's neck. It had nothing to do with the muggers who now were now openly whispering to each other, but that Coulson actually was worried. Bucky knew the man, as with himself, his biggest personal weakness was Steve. 

"We found Leo, but he is held prisoner so Stark has challenged a killer robot and Loki is pretending not to be terrified about it," Bucky glanced back to Loki at the bar who was almost falling off his seat as much as he was on the edge of it. 

_"Right, I can see you already your own difficulties. I'm sorry to ad to that... Winter Soldier."_

Now Bucky was listening, his former epithet was usually only used in two occasions: when someone was teasing him, or when shit had hit the fan. By the sound of Coulson's voice it was the later. Bucky's mindset and body changed almost immediately to professional, the unidentifiable feeling was pushed to the back of his mind. 

"Talk to me, sir."

 _"The good news, as you know, is that we found Clint and Darcy. They seem to be fine, I asked Tien to show them back to the ship."_ Coulson took a breath. _"They had two alien women with them, one of them went with them to the ship, the other one knew where you were and offered to take me to you."  
_   
Bucky listened carefully to the tense voice. In his perceptional vision he noticed that the rink was now clear of most debris. Rocket was being carried away by Groot by the tail, the raccoon was protectingly hugging some kind of strange metal plate with a myriad of wires hanging out of it to his chest, he growling at anyone looking at it.   
_  
"I was suspicious towards her because she was clearly an assassin, but I didn't assess her as an immediate threat to us..."_

There was a roar from the crowd as the fight started. Bucky had to move a bit further away to hear the phone. He noticed three people following him, but wasn't worried about that.   
_  
"...so this woman, her name is Nebula, was showing me and Tein the way to your location, and then Steve and Ronan arrived... Ronan immediately recognised the woman by sight and they were both very upset about each other. Then they started fighting and ran off to who knows where. We ran after them, but we lost them... Then... then I noticed I lost Steve as well..." _

"So Steve is gone?" Bucky clenched his metal hand. 

_"No,"_ Coulson sighed. _"Ronan and the blue woman are gone. I found Steve... Some usher tricked him into a bar, but it wasn't just a bar but a brothel as well. Now they want to buy him."_

Bucky sighed and rubbed the root of his nose. He loved Steve with all his heart and soul, but sometimes...

 _"I continued to inform them that he wasn't for sale and a free man. Then they decided to kidnap him instead."_

"Why didn't he resist?"

 _"There are a lot of bare breasted women around here, I think he got nervous. Someone insisted on giving him a drink before he left... And now he's drunk."_

The facts were coming a little too fast for Bucky's not quite fixed brain to handle. He too knew the allure of half-naked women, but unlike him Steve still had some of his 1940s-sensitivities left. That was made the man so lovable... 

Bucky shook his head to focus on the aspects of his new mission. 

"Steve's drunk? How's that even possible?"

 _"I don't know what they put in the drinks out here, I not even sure it's alcohol. Anyway he's not sober. "_

"Right," Bucky nodded. "I understand. Wait there, I'll get Quill and we'll come as soon as we can. Where are you?"

 _"Do you see the pillar of orange smoke being sucked into the ventilation system?"_

There were several pillars of smoke around, though only one could be described as orange. 

For people who were capable of space travel, the heating and cooking was quite basic. Though Bucky had to admit that being able to control fire in space was quite impressive. Bruce Banner had given a lessons about fire safety in closed spaces, and in zero gravity. It hadn't been pretty. 

"Yes."  
 _  
"That would be us. I would ask you to hurry, but I know I don't have to tell you._

"I'm on my way."

Bucky hung up and took a determined breath. He glanced at the two amateur thieves checking him out. He had planned on teaching them a lesson, now there wasn't any time to do that. 

He headed back to the bar. One of the men stepped forward holding a knife. Without stopping Bucky easily twisted his hand and pushed him aside. 

"Hey, you fucker!" yelled the man's companion. "I'm talking to you!"

Bucky ignored him and walked quickly over Peter Quill and Loki. Peter looked at him questioningly, Loki only spared him a quick glance. Iron Man was in full throttle with the Champion robot, it looked like an fairly even fight so far. The crowd was cheering and name calling was almost drowning out the grinding metal and explosions. 

"It was Coulson," Bucky told Peter. "He needs backup."

"You and me?" He looked a bit surprised to be chosen for the task. . 

Bucky nodded. 

Then Peter suddenly put his hand on his weapon and was about to call out a warning. Bucky moved fast but not in time not to feel a small pressure on his metal arm. There was a plonking sound and then something ripping. He looked to the right. 

The friend of the mugger he had pushed away had attempted to stab him in the shoulder. The knife had broken its tip and the remaining part had cut up a long tare in his jacket down to his wrist. His silver-coloured arm was perfectly exposed. Those who were closest to him made an audible gasp. 

"This jacket was a gift from my boyfriend," Bucky turned his trained cold eyes towards the shorter man. "But I'm actually in a hurry..." he took a breath "...so I'm going to leave your punishment to him."

"I am Groot."

\-----------------

Loki's fingers twitched with withheld magic. Though it didn't hurt he could feel it strained on his wound. It was irritating since he was still used to believing that it was not there. 

He longed to rush forward and clear the whole battle ground away with only the human left standing. He wasn't doubting Anthony's skill, or armour, but he wasn't sure about the opponent. 

Loki had hoped that Dr. Fitz could do something to disable the Champion, but the plebs who had him prisoned were unfortunately competent enough to check accurately on his work. And anyway, Anthony had asked him not to cheat. 

Stupid human. Stupid stubborn human that Loki couldn't take care of and couldn't protect. 

He flinched as Iron Man got hit over and over by a powerful blows. It had been far too close to the arc-reactor for comfort. Idiotic human to show off his most vulnerable place with a light-show. 

"Whoa, that gotta hurt!"

Loki gave Rocket an irritated glance. For some reason Quill had left and the creature had taken his place. His friend, the living tree, was on the edge of the bar, dangling two terrified men upside down by their feet. Loki didn't really care. 

"Hey, you, pretty boy," a voice growled behind him. "If you going to sit there you need to order a drink."

Loki ignored the bartender. The man grumbled some kind of insignificant threat repeating the stupid demand. If Loki wasn't so fixed on Anthony, who at that moment took a knee to the ground, he would have cursed his nose off. 

"I'll take care of it," sighed Rocket. "But your boyfriend better pay me back."

Loki hoped his boyfriend would be alive to do that. 

\--------------------


	15. Chapter 15

"Is Loki watching?"

"Sir, there is a much otherwise pressing engagement at present."

"Don't talk to me about pressing engagements, buddy," Tony huffed as he directed a hard fist to the Champion's mechanical gut. "Though I actually think I would be better of with this guy..."

"Power sixty-eight percent, sir, armour holding at forty-three percent, defence at..."

"Divert to left plating!"

"Sir?"

Statistics and odds of loosing flashed over the hud. JARVIS was not confident in the outcome of this manoeuvre. Tony was though, he ignored the numbers, as usual, and focused on the prize. 

The Champion was alien, and Tony's only experience with alien technology were the Chirauri, some of SHEILD's old scrap metal storages, and that what he had seen aboard the Guardians' ship. But there was one piece of the robot that wasn't alien, the part Leo had worked on. That was an Earth part, and Tony fully understood those. 

Hence it was vulnerable. 

The young man had promised not to skimp on his work and Tony counted on it. Leo didn't know it, but Tony had kept his eye close on him and the work that he did onboard the ship. Leo was much more than the maintenance he had volunteered to do. Tony had learned from what he had seen. 

"Now!"

The power diverted and Tony punched forward. A little trick he adapted from experiences fighting with Thor and Hulk, who both were the only ones he grudgingly admitted being superior to the Iron Man suit. There was also a bit of Loki in the move, since it depended on sneakiness and skill. 

Tony grinned as the sound of metal to metal reverberated through the suit. 

"You gotta tell me he saw that!"

\------------ 

"My friends! Welcome back!"

Thor rushed forward and lifted Darcy off the ground up to his chest, pushing the air out of her lungs. Then he made the same thing with Clint without letting her go. Neither of them cared, they just hugged Thor right back. 

"I am overjoyed for your safe return! You have been greatly missed!"

"Thanks," laughed Clint with his voice muffled by Thor's right pectoral. "I've missed you too."

As Darcy was put back down she looked around for Bruce. Even though she knew he was still in his hulked out form and up in the airlock, she had had half a hope that it was a mistake. Her heart fell a bit as she realised that it wasn't.

"Do you want me to escort you to him?" asked Thor with a kind but sad smile, he had seen the look in her eyes. "He is in the airlock."

"Please," Darcy nodded weakly. 

Thor stepped aside to let her go first. As she passed she heard Clint introduce Careet to Thor. The pink woman sounded a bit overwhelmed to meet the first prince of Asgard. The dark woman, Tien, was following them quietly. 

"How is Jane?" 

She felt a bit bad for not asking about her best friend who at the last time she saw her was ready to burst with two babies. Judging by the smile on Thor's face at the mention of Jane told her that everyone was still alive. 

_"What time do you call this?"_ suddenly interrupted Natasha's stern voice from the speakers above them. _"You are late._

"Sorry, sweetheart," Clint grinned up at the nearest security camera. "Traffic was a real bitch."

 _"Get up to the Bridge, you clod,"_ Nat's voice now had a big smile attached. _"I've got a little lady to introduce you to."_

"On my way," Clint saluted the closest security camera, of course he knew the location of all of them. 

They had reached the door that separated the loading bay from the rest of the ship. The door wouldn't open as they approached. 

"If you pardon me, Mr. Barton. I would recommend you take a decontamination shower first. Neither Ms. Romanoff, nor young Miss Pumpkin, have been inoculated, and my scanners indicate you having been exposed to a fair amount of contamination while away from the ship."

Darcy looked down at her on hands at this remark. She felt disgusted as she realised the sight of her nails. It reminded her again of Jane. Darcy remembered helping cleaning Jane's hands and nails the day before she was abducted. 

Darcy should probably be decontaminated as well. 

"Yeah...?" Clint also looked down at his own hands and frowned. "Can... Can you at least show them to me on the screen?"

"Of course, Mr. Barton."

One of the monitors on the wall flickered to life and showed a live feed from the Bridge. It took a few moments before Nat walked into view, she was holding a baby in her arms. The baby seemed to be wrapped up in a man's t-shirt, probably one of Clint's. 

"Oh," Clint stepped closer to the screen. "She's so beautiful..."

She really was, but Darcy only stopped for a short moment to look at the child, she needed to get to Bruce. 

"Can I go first?" she asked. 

Clint nodded wordlessly without looking away from his daughter. 

A door opened a bit further down the loading bay. She had never really noticed it before, but if she knew her way around the ship as good as she thought she did, she would label it as an emergency-exit exit. 

One of Tony's robots stuck it's claw-like head out of the doorway with a slightly funny quizzical sound. Darcy saw it was Dummy, and she smiled at him. He gave waive and a happy greeting noise. 

"At the moment my attention is partly divided to Mr. Stark," Jarvis sounded like would have rolled his eyes if he could. "Dummy will lead you through the decontamination process. Please, if you are so kind, Ms. Lewis, give a report of your experience when finished."

"Why?" Darcy paused and gave the closest camera a suspicious look. 

"You would be the first one going through it. Also, the biological soap isn't quite finished since Dr. Simmons and Dr. Banner are... temporarily out of commission. There could be some extra scrubbing because of this."

"Wonderful," Darcy sighed. 

She took Careet with her. If Darcy felt uncomfortable for the decontamination, then it would be worse for Careet since she was a stranger in a strange place. Also, It was better to have company you were to strip nude for a robot who's favourite thing was to use a fire extinguisher. 

\-------------- 

Phil was pretending to patiently wait a few steps away from the shop that had hi-jacked Captain America. He was very good at keeping calm on the outside and the panic within. Though he had been standing there for about ten minutes and the locals were getting restless. 

He was already in pain, and slightly bleeding from a cut under his right eye where the bouncer from the brothel had hit him. His rear was also sore from landing on the hard floor after the same bouncer had thrown him out on his ass. Phil might have been marginally overestimating his skills at standing up to huge aliens after spending months mostly doing office and gardening work. 

It was a bit harrowing to think, but even though he kept up with most of his physical routines, he had settled into something similar to retirement. He was only fifty-five, and with Loki's elixir he had maybe double that to go. Was he going to spend it among paper and plants?

Phil sighed and looked around. 

This part of the space station was most likely the equivalent of a red light district back on Earth. From his many years of working with surveillance and training others to do the same, he knew that standing alone in a place like this wasn't the wisest thing to do. 

He had asked Tein to guide Clint, Darcy, and their much more calmer friend back to the ship. It had been a slight misjudgement to stay behind alone, but now it was done. Clint had clearly been in no shape to stay behind anyway. 

Phil really missed his suit and tie, they gave him comfort. To better blend in with the inhabitants he was wearing a long brown coat and a knitted purple beanie. The coat was more designed for colder climates in mind so he wore it open with one of Tony's more subtle t-shirts underneath. 'Subtle' meaning that it didn't have a pop-culture reference on it. 

If he was on Earth he would be tagged as a pervert and would soon either be beaten up, or be shown to where the more solicitous shows where being put on display. Phil had no desire for either. 

"Rrrrreaooow," came a irritated sound from the cage he was holding. 

"You and me both," he sighed deeply. "You and me both."

The cage, similar to a Victorian birdcage, contained something that looked and sounded very much like a cat but had more grey fluffy fur than a colony of chinchillas. He didn't even know why he was still holding on to it. The blue-skinned woman had thrusted it in his arms before engaging in a mortal combat-style fight with Ronan. 

The cage didn't help his image. 

"Coulson!"

Phil relaxed slightly when Bucky and Peter Quill came towards him. He had thought that they would bring more people, but he wasn't worried. The three of them could handle this. And Steve, of course, as soon as they got to him. 

"What's going on?" asked Bucky, his eyes quickly glancing over Phil's injured cheek but without commenting. 

"Cap is held captive in a brothel, Ronan has run off to fight some strange woman to death, I'm pretty sure that at least six people are going to attack us and try to kill us very soon, and I think I got a new pet. How about you?"

"We found Leo, Stark is fighting a killer-robot to get him back."

Not to his surprise Phil wasn't surprised. 

"Interesting."

"Rrrrreeeouw!" committed the small beast in the cage. 

"I think that's what's usually called a 'piper'," informed Peter, hunching a bit to get a better look. "They're mostly used for catching vermin and cleaning long pipes. Cute." He stood up straight again. "So... this woman Ronan was chasing after... she had blue skin? Was she pretty?"

"Jealous?" Bucky smirked. 

"N-no!" splurted Peter and turned a bit pink. "I just think I know who she is, that's all. I'll go look for them. Now. I'm leaving. To look- find- stop! I'm leaving to _stop_ them. _Going_ to stop them... I'm going to stop them, from fighting..."

"Just go," sighed Bucky. 

Phil smirked as Peter gave a embarrassed nod and jogged away. 

"He's got it bad," he shook his head. "Is he all right alone?"

"We'll back him up as soon as we get Steve out. Where is he?"

"In there," Phil indicated the gaudy doorway. "I didn't want to go in without backup. They have a bouncer that could even make Hulk hesitant at first sight."

"So you saved him for me?"

"I aim to please, Sergeant Barnes. Actually I thought we could do this as peacefully as possible. We are at a numeral disadvantage."

"You've been hanging around scientists for too long, you're starting to sound like them."

Phil just did his basic 'sorry-but-that's-classified"-shrug, he had noticed that it was quite useful in several instances in life more than just espionage and intelligence work. What ever Bucky read into it made them both smile slightly. 

A man who had been approaching them with a threatening glare in his lilac slitted eyes was the first to take a fall by Bucky's metal fist. That seemed to hold the others back long enough for Phil and Bucky to enter the brothel. 

The bouncer was the size of three strong men, his skin was dark green, his eyes were bright yellow, and he was in the way. 

"You," he pointed to Phil with a massive finger. "I told you to stay away."

"I'm sorry," Phil gave the smile that he had, just for fun mind you, developed and practiced forward to freak out Tony Stark the most. "But I told my friend here about your place and he wanted to come and see it for himself."

The bouncer turned to peer at Bucky, he clearly liked what he saw. His lizard-like eyes lingered for a moment on the metal hand coming out of the sleeve of Bucky's jacket. 

Phil took a step to the side not to get in the way. There were quite a lot of patrons around, what ever counted as music was played loudly, and scantly clad men and women were walking around selling their services. 

From what Phil had assessed the 'services' could be anything from being bought a drink to what ever happened in the back rooms. He could see Steve further in in the locale. 

"You can come in," the bouncer nodded. "Not you," he glared at Phil. 

The captain hadn't noticed that he was being resurrected yet, he was talking to a emerald-skinned woman who seemed very frustrated that, even though he was drunk, he knew exactly where her eyes where and wouldn't look anywhere else. 

If Steve wasn't in obvious distress it would almost be funny. 

"Fine," Phil held up the hand that wasn't holding the cage. "I'll wait outside."

With a nod to Bucky, who just blinked back, Phil left the brothel for the second time, at least he wasn't being thrown this time. 

He chose a different vantage point of the entrance this time. 

"Come with me if you want to live," hissed a female voice in his ear as a sharp blade was held to the side of his neck. 

He had no chance to defend himself before a blue arm hooked with his elbow and he was pulled away. 

"Rreow!" protested the polebear angrily as it was shook around its cage. 

\------- 

Loki emptied his drink as his name was called by Anthony's voice slightly corrupted by the Iron Man speakers. The combination of movement and strong alcohol made his stomach burn from the inside out. He should really look into that. 

Using the Mind Stone again wouldn't work now since the secret was out, even to himself. His best opinions were either suspended sleep and healing in the freeze machine, or magical experiments. The last one sounded quite interesting. 

It took a while for Anthony getting through the crowd. There was an impressed choirs of awe as the somewhat beaten up Iron Man suit folded itself back into a backpack. Anthony smiled like a pretentious overconfident human. Loki didn't want to admit that he felt a bit of loving admiration at the sight. 

"Hey, Makeup Hangover!" Anthony called over his shoulder to Rocket who was scurrying around the rink picking up prices of Champion. "Every little microchip of that is mine. I've done a digital photographic scan of everything, I'll know if something is missing."

"Just picking them up for you, boss!" Rocket called back. 

"Yeah, right," smirked the human fondly and turned to Loki. "Did you see me out there, babe? Was I awesome?"

"As ever, my love."

"You patronising me shouldn't be that sexy," he shook his head. "Well, I'm off to collect my winnings. Where are the others?"

"Don't know..." Loki looked around, feeling a bit unsteady on his feet, frowning that Bucky and Quill weren't there. "I didn't see them leave."

"Couldn't keep your eyes of me, eh? Still..." he paused. "Do I have any backup? Or am I stuck with the kleptomaniac power rangers chipmunk and Fraxinus Excelsior over there?"

"Is that the only tree you know in Latin?"

"Yep."

"Is it because Yggdrasil is an ash tree?"

"Yep."

Somehow in a twisted way, and with not really understandable reasoning, that was actually kind of sweet. If nothing it proved that Anthony had at least done a computer search, or, perish the thought, opened a real book on Norse mythology. 

Loki blamed the sudden sentimentality, and the subsequent desire to kiss Anthony's cheek, on the pain and the drinks. It wasn't relief that the human was unharmed. 

"I am Groot?" asked Groot looking confused. 

"Good on you, pal." Anthony padded Groot's long arm, turned, and pointed with the whole hand towards Dr. Fitz who was looking more and more nervous by the moment. "Come on then, troops. We have a baby scientist to rescue."

"I am Groot?" Groot looked to Loki, obviously still looking for an explanation. 

"Don't worry," Loki smiled up at the wooden beast. "He compared you to the noblest of all trees, the one on which the entire universe depends. Now go guard his back or I'll turn you into noble driftwood."

Groot murmured something unintelligible, though it might have ended with '-oot', before following Anthony who already was masterfully teasing Gwar and his team of very sour killers over their loss. He saw so much of himself in that human it was ridiculous. 

With a sigh he turned around and ordered a new drink, for medical purposes. 

But before he could bring the liquid to his lips the cup was roughly taken away from him by a very masculine hand and gulped down in one go by a tall man with blond hair and facial hair sillier than Anthony's. Loki hoped that he was just delirious from pain and nerves, but he was never that lucky. 

"Fendral," he greeted with a sigh. 

"Ahhh," exhaled the too handsome Asgardian. "That was a big boy drink, what the Norns were you doing with that?"

Loki considered sacrificing some of his limited power to electrocute the unwelcome friend of his brother, but he was interrupted by a very familiar sound of the Iron Man chest reactor loading up. Trust Anthony to make a bad situation worse.


	16. Chapter 16

Loki was in so much suffering that his physical pain didn't even matter more. Not even holding Anthony's gauntleted hand was sufficient enough to calm him. 

They were walking back to Heidrun through the space station streets. Groot was carrying the heavy burden of the Champion, Rocket's loot and Rocket himself. He didn't seem to mind though, and was humming some kind of esoteric melody to himself.

Fendral was following them, suspiciously glancing at Loki and around himself. He was uncomfortably quiet for such a ordinarily rumbling man. He had tried to engage Dr. Fitz and Rocket in conversation, but Fitzgerald was tired and Rocket had decided Fendral was a chump 

Loki liked Rocket. 

Fendral had also said that he had come upon them by accident from a Nova Corp transmission. An obvious lie, there wasn't a realm with a Bifrost connection anywhere close to the space station. Volstagg must have arrived either by ship to do trade, or by the Tessaract to do Odin's bidding. 

Either option gave Loki an even badder feeling in his gut.

"I have no idea why they reacted so badly," Anthony was retelling the story of Leo's brave rescue. "I didn't even use the word 'loser' more than three times."

"It's unexplainable," pandered Loki only paying enough attention to his mate to appease his end of the conversation. 

"I know, right?"

Fendral had also said that he hadn't known about the birth of the twins, which was an even greater lie because Heimdahl, even if not paying full attention, was bound to notice such an event. There was something afoot. 

Even the fact that it was Fendral, the least threatening of Thor's stupid friends, was another reason for suspicion. 

"By the way, aren't we missing some people?" Anthony looked around. 

"Very observant, commander." 

"I love it when you call me that. Still, I'm sure we left home with more people."

They arrived at the entrance to the station's docking bay. Ronan and Peter Quill were there waiting for them. 

"Isn't that...?" whispered Fendral uncertainty eying the big blue man. 

"Yes," confirmed Loki. "But shut up about it."

Ronan looked quite pummelled and bruised, his blue skin showing many shades of dark purple and red. He was leaning slightly on Quill, but as he noticed Anthony's approach he quickly pushed away and stood for himself, though a bit tilted. Quill had the beginnings of what would develop into a quite glorious black eye on the left sod of his face. 

"What happened to you two?" asked Anthony. 

"Ronan met up with an old girlfriend, Nebula," Quill gave a charming smile that made his lip bleed, he cringed but still smiled. "And while she was busy kicking his ass, some other old friends of his came along and decided to kick both of their asses. Then I came along and caused a really cool and brave distraction, and then we all ran away."

" _You_ ran away?" Rocket asked Ronan with a mocking laugh. 

"I had to," Ronan huffed with ill hidden irritation. "The human fainted and I had to carry him out of there."

"That I believe," nodded the raccoon. 

"I am Groot," agreed Groot. 

Quill smiled wider and cringed even more from his split lip. 

"I would say 'my hero', but that's totally cheesy, so I won't." He put his hands to his sides and weighed back in his heals to just to fail at trying to look casual. "The girl got away, but that's life."

"Ain't it though," Anthony sympathetically patted his shoulder. "Put there are always plenty more killer fish in the sea."

"Yeah, homicidal cybernetic Luphomoid females are always popping up when you least expect them."

"And I want to hear all about it, but for now we got to get Leo some good food and a warm bed. Also, I've got a new toy I want to take apart."

They started walking towards the ship. Loki could see Gamora and Sam Wilson standing sentry at the open loading bay door. The two of them were almost pushed aside, though, by Dr. Simmons, running the best she could with her injured arm, to embrace her best friend with tears in her eyes. 

"You friggin' tosser," she breathed as Dr. Fitz hugged her back. "Don't you ever scare me like that again."

................

"Pretty girl," said Hulk and hugged Darcy to his huge green chest. After the, to say it mildly, invigorating detoxification shower she had revived from Dummy his warm skin against hers felt like bliss. 

She had just convinced JARVIS to let her inside the airlock. It hadn't taken much effort since as soon as Hulk saw her through the window he had began shaking the door in a way that eventually would have endangered the integrity of that part of the ship. 

She was only wearing a black bathrobe that was too big for her and had the Stark-logo largely embroidered on the back. As Hulk lifted her up she had to hold on to the hem of the robe, not to give Sam and Drax a too intimate view of her thighs.

Careet was there as well, dressed in the same sort of stock merchandise robe, though hers was too big for her and white. Her bright pink skin had turned a nuance darker after the decontamination. She seemed curious in Hulk, probably since Darcy had told so much about him, though she was standing at a reasonable safe difference.

Sam had told Darcy he was still on his compulsorily rest form piloting, but since he hadn't been able to sleep, he had relived Thor from keeping Hulk company. He had given her a hug as well, though more gentle and less cuddly. 

Drax was there because he was interested in what he saw was the most powerful being on the ship. When Darcy heard that she smirked because she knew some male egos that would be hurt if they knew. 

"Did you miss me?" Darcy asked Hulk whose chin actually had stubble, a sign that he had been in this form far too long. 

"Yes, Bruce miss pretty girl."

"Oh," Darcy actually almost felt moved to tears by that. 

Hulk was raw emotion, what he said was true. She wondered if he could say the same in his smaller form. Either way, she knew it was true and she was glad to be back with him. 

She snuggled closer to him, she could feel her moist hair dry by his body heat. The increasing heat was the first sign that Hulk was sweating himself out. When he was Bruce again, both would be drenched in his sweat. Darcy didn't care. 

"Hey!" called Tony knocking on the side of the big open airlock door. "Lovebirds! Any estimate when I can get my science officer back? I need some input on a thing I just won."

"Let them be," huffed Loki grabbing hold of the back of Tony's shirt and pulling him away. "You have more missing crewmen to find."

"But babe..." Tony whined, but was complacent to dragged along. "Well, hello there, Pretty in Pink" he smiled flirtatiously at Careet as he passed her. "And who might you be?"

Before Careet had time to do anything but blush Loki was pulling Tony onwards. 

"Who's missing?" asked Sam. 

"They are not missing," Tony managed to make himself free and made an indignant correction of his clothes. "They are just late in returning back. Steve and Bucky are probably of having sex somewhere. Ronan's with Quill, hopefully doing the same. And Coulson is very capable of taking care of himself."

"Cap's missing?" Sam frowned. 

"It's fine," Loki held out a calming hand. "Our gallant and handsome commander is going to go out and find them. And then we are getting the fuck out of this place."

"Only because you called me handsome," Tony smiled up at him. "And because you said the f-word, that is so fucking sexy. Right..." he rubbed his hands together, "...who is volunteering for the search party?"

"Is there need for celebration?" asked Drax. "Is it an Earth tradition to ravel before going on a quest? Peter Quill have a frenzy showed this behaviour, though it has not always been followed by a mission."

"I agree," Tony nodded seriously. "We'll save the party until afterwards when we have everything sorted. I'll put the bots on party duty, Butterfingers makes a mean afternoon teaparty, if you don't mind him spilling half the tea. Though the finger sandwiches are quite awesome..."

Loki cleared his throat. Tony did the same. 

"I'll put JARVIS to oversee it. First, let's find our boys."

Drax gruffed. 

"I'll come too," said Sam. 

"All right," Tony rubbed his hands. "Where's the Nova chick? I heard she knew the last place they were seen."

"She's interviewing Leo in the common room ," said Darcy who had neatly avoided being held up the alien cop by simply pretending not to hear her when she asked Darcy to wait for questioning. 

"JARVIS, ask her for directions and send them to me."

"Yes, sir."

"Let's go," Tony gestured for Sam to follow. "Babe? Why don't you show the pink little lady over there some of our good hospitality? The lovebirds over there need to get to work in bringing my science bro back to me, so he can come play with my new toy."

Darcy didn't have a particular good view of Loki from her position in Hulk's arms, but she could guess that he didn't like the way the request was made. His regal upbringing held him to better standards though, and he seemed to make a curt nod. 

"Thanks, babe. I'll make it up for you."

At least he seemed somewhat attuned to Loki's feelings on the matter. 

Within a few seconds Darcy and Hulk were alone. She sighed contently. 

"Pretty girl smell funny," Hulk nuzzled his big nose in Darcy's hair. 

"Well, next time you make a decontamination soap you might suggest to add some essential oils, perhaps lemon, or rose. Sandalwood is quite nice too..." She paused, thoughtfully comparing the green skin of his arm to her own pinkish hand. "Huh, I guess those smells are back on Earth, I wonder what smells there are in space."

"Space don't smell," Hulk sighed tiredly. "It is void. Void don't smell..." He paused and frowned to think really hard. "Bruce will make experiment."

Darcy smiled, scientific reasoning meant that Bruce was on his way back. She could already feel the hands holding her getting smaller, and a bit sweaty. 

\-------

Clint didn't know what he was more mesmerised by, his daughter or his dog. Of course it should be the baby, but he had been somewhat prepared to be a father, the dog was a complete surprise. The dog was also more energetic in his greeting. 

Pumpkin came through on top, though. She had opened up her nearsighted crystal blue eyes and looked at him. Clint had been shot many times, but never in the heart. He let her tiny hand grip his finger. 

He was sitting on the sofa in the common room, feet on the cushions, back against Nat's embrace, her arms loosely embracing his neck, and Pumpkin on his lap. The dog was sniffing around the room. 

Clint hadn't realised how much he had missed to comforts of this room. The soft furniture, the calming atmosphere, and the giant television that just waited for him to return to his interrupted binge-watching of Bonanza. 

"I'm sorry I wasn't here for you," he said, leaning his head to the side so he rested his ear against Nat's elbow, brushing his lips against her forearm. 

It was quite a lot of public display of affection for them, but at the moment neither of them cared about much more than being together again, and for the first time. 

"Don't be," Nat put her chin against the back of his head. "It was pretty gruesome. Though, I was dead, so I really don't know for sure what happened, and I don't feel like looking at the tapes."

Clint didn't feel like doing that either. You were probably supposed to see the birth of your child, but you didn't need to see your wife bleeding to death at the same time. Seeing her come back to life would also be a bit jarring he guessed. 

He had had it explained to him by Dr. Kingsley, but it was too much to wrap his head around. The basics were that Nat was now bodily an alternative version of herself, though not mentally, they had s baby girl from a pregnancy that may or may not have existed, and there was a puppy. 

"It's all good," Clint smiled at Pumpkin who didn't seem to care either way, and also didn't know any better to do so. 

"Armoury Officer Barton?" 

The tall dark woman from the so called Nova Corp, who had been talking to Leo and Jemma over by the big gaming table, walked across the room towards them. She was certainly his type of woman, he'd always had a thing for powerful redheads. 

"Excused me. My name is Tein, and I need to ask you some questions on the behalf of the Nova Cooperation. Is now a good time?"

"As any," shrugged Clint with a smile, feeling slightly excited over being formally addressed with his work title for the first time. "What do you want to know?"

Ten minutes later he had finished up the report of his capture, dastardly escape, and brave rescue of two ladies in distress. It was quite an amazing story, even though told in standard debriefing form and leaving out the family of rat-creatures he had befriended in the vents.

Nat had given an indulgent huff of breath when he told them about the street hustler and how he had tricked him, otherwise it was quite a decent report if he could say so for himself. Too bad neither Phil nor Steve had were there to hear it. 

Now when Clint thought about it, he hadn't even seen Tony yet. Not that he felt put aside or something, Tony probably had much more important things to do than to welcome back a teammate and friend who had been kidnapped by space pirates. 

Tien wrote down his report on a thing that looked like an advanced electronic pad. It would probably make Tony as green as Hulk with envy. 

"My lady Natasha!" suddenly boomed Thor from the Common Room doorway. "My children are in need of sustenance, where are the nipple bottles?"

He was carrying a baby on each massive arm. Clint guessed that Thor's face of pride could only measure up to his own at that moment. 

Behind him stood a very handsome blond man that Clint remembered seeing once back on Earth when a small New Mexican town had been levelled to the ground. There was no doubt that the man was Asgardian, and certain trouble. 

"They are in the thermo-case over by the bar," Nat gestured. "How is Jane?"

"Asleep. She has been much tired of late, but her exhaustion is understandable."

"Indeed," she tilted her head to lead ok behind him. "And this is?"

She knew very well who he was. 

"My dear friend Fendral has arrived to wish me good fortune," continued Thor as he gently let Jemma take one of the babies and shifted the other one slightly to a better position. 

"Greetings," bowed Fendral. "This is indeed a great time when the son of Thor is born."

"And daughter," Thor gave him a narrow look.

"Indeed a double blessing by the Norns," Fendral hurried to say. "A fine wife for any lucky man."

Clint knew who he wasn't going to ask to babysit in the future. By the look on Nat's face she agreed. 

Thor seemed to let it slide as he took up three bottles form the case, though the corner of his mouth had an irritated wrinkle. He gave one bottle to Jenna and one to Clint, then he tested the temperature of the remaining bottle by holding it to his cheek. 

"What are their names?" asked Leo who had come across the room to take a closer look. 

"It is tradition not to tell before the name giving ceremony," Thor smiled down at the suckling child in his arms, Clint guessed it was the girl. "But both Jane and I are partial to family names."

Clint looked down on Pumpkin. She was contently half asleep, sucking the bottle almost absentmindedly. He couldn't imagine Nat wanting a name reminding her of being an orphan, neither could he himself stand the thought of naming the child after his abandoning mother. Families were different, and sometimes you could name a baby after a vegetable and be happy with it. 

\-----------------

"Are you serious?" Tony looked to Steve who had the audacity to give a shrug of apology. "You are a super soldier, your boyfriend is a master assassin, you get tricked by some lowlife conmen, you _loose_ Coulson, and now you want me to pay your fucking bill?"

Tony couldn't believe this was happening. The thought of Steve falling for something like this was incredible. It was the oldest trick in the book. Find a gullible mark, get them drunk, make them work off bill. 

"Yeah?" Steve continued smiling his stupid smile. 

Steve wasn't able to become drunk. Tony wondered how just many drinks the idiot had downed just because he was too polite and embarrassed to say no to the topless waitstaff. 

"And what do you have to say for yourself?" Tony turned to Bucky who was leaning against the wall looking too casual for his own good. 

"That I really want him back?" Bucky smirked. "Pl _eeee_ se?"

"We just didn't want to make a scene," Steve gave half a shrug. "Violence isn't always the answer to getting out of trouble. Also, we thought it better to leave this place with as few enemies as possible."

Tony shook his head. He had already sent Sam and Drax to look for Coulson. Sam had had a good time teasing Steve before leaving. As it stood now, Tony wished that Sam had tried a little harder. 

"Have you found anything you like?" asked yellowish humanoid with a white mohawk and mannish, but still androgenic, features. 

"Sorry," Tony looked the... host? "I'm very happily monogamously pre-engaged to a sadistic demigod, I just want my security officer back. What does he owe for taking part in your little scam?"

"We don't scam anyone, sir. But we can offer you a wide range of species and scenarios to satisfy your every wish. Dungeon? Desert planet? Feengeeic bloodletting?"

The tone in his voice was smooth and accommodating as if he could see that Tony was a very rich, and thereby powerful, man. 

"Thanks, but I already endure a daily dose of torture in that department," Tony was beginning to loose patience. "His bill, please. Or I will take away his boyfriend's restrictions not to severely hurt anyone. And believe me, he needs restrictions."

Bucky probably didn't like being compared to a fight dog on a leash, and Tony would need to apologise later, but for now it did the trick. Begrudgingly the host nodded to the bartender, some kind me of lizard woman, to put together the bill. 

"We have just acquired some new stimulants that could really raise your mood."

For a small time host in a fraudulent brothel on a pirate space station, this guy was actually quite a tenacious businessman. If they had been back on Earth Tony wouldn't have minded giving him a job at the Stark Industries sales department. 

"I doubt it," Tony was trying to act like he knew exactly what he was doing as he sorted through the small stack of plastic microchip cards that worked as currency transfers. 

Rocket and Loki had given him a lesson in how they worked, but as back on Earth when dealing with cash only enterprises, he had no idea what to do. He was like Steve with a credit card. He was obviously not doing too well a job since a light of cunning and greed suddenly came into the host's orange eyes. Tony put on his best poker face, hoped for the best, and held out one of the cards. 

The host took the card with a coquettish smile. By the micro-expressions on his face it was worth a bit more than Steve owed. There wasn't going to be any change. 

"Your partner is very lucky. You seem to love them quite much."

"Yes, I do," Tony watched as Steve walked over to Bucky, the gullible bastard was going to pay this back by scrubbing Heidrun's blast manifolds. 

"Perhaps you want to by them a present? Would you look to look in our shop?"

Tony paused. 

"You have a shop?"

"Tony..." Steve sighed. 

"Best in the system."

That wasn't saying much since the star system they were currently in wasn't very populated. 

Though, Tony wrestled a moment with his mind, Loki might not want sex or being touched, but he could perhaps be convinced to dress up, and, if Tony begged on his bare knees, put on a little show. 

"I think we have some time..."


	17. Chapter 17

Loki left the Krylorian woman in one of the vacant quarters. She had been more than apologetic and accommodating to him, far too aware of their differences in status and the absurdity of him showing her to her room. 

She had been very thankful for the bed, he guessed it had been a long time since she slept in one. 

It had felt a bit strange, but Loki had mostly been relieved that she had treated him like royalty and not as a traitor. It was clear that the female was of good upbringing, or at least of good training. 

She was also very beautiful, at least by most bipedal species standards in the galaxy. That could be a future problem concerning Anthony. Beautiful females scared Loki, they were Anthony's weakness and probably what Loki eventually would loose him to. 

As he left the living quarters behind he decided to go to the med bay and let Kingsley help him out of the corset. It held him together nicely, but the pain would soon be too overwhelming. As soon as he knew Anthony was safely back onboard Loki would take a few days in the Freeze Machine to gather his strength. 

A low grunt made him look around. 

"Jane?" 

He hurried over to the small woman. She was wearing a full pyjama with pink flowers and fuzzy slippers but she was also wearing her white lab coat. She was very pale, though her hair was in a perfect ponytail and her eyes were bright with excitement. 

"Loki!" She waived her arms as she seemed almost uncontainable with emotions. "Hurry! We must go to the astrometric lab, immediately."

"What is going on?" he hurried over and reluctantly offered her his elbow for support, she declined it. 

"The long range radiation scanners has gone off," she smiled broadly. "They have found a collapsing supernova! Can you believe it? We could actually be able see the formation of a black hole with our own eyes!"

The words 'supernova' and 'black hole' sounded strange and unfamiliar in All-speak. They were specific Midgård-terms for celestial phenomenas and couldn't be magically translated. Loki could guess what she meant though, and he understood her excitement. Even for beings of his long lifespan such an event was very rare indeed to witness. 

He knew for sure that not even Oden had experienced it. That made him even more eager to see it for himself. The look on Anthony's face would also be breathtaking. 

"Where's Bruce?" Jane was knocking on the elevator doors as if it would make the machine come faster to pick her up. "He's going to flip out!"

Before Loki had time to answer the elevator doors opened and revealed Dr Banner and Darcy. They were involved in a deep embrace. Banner was bare chested and his trousers were hanging preciously on his hips, Darcy was in a bathrobe and nothing else. 

They took half a step back from each other when they noticed that they were being observed. It was only half a step because they were obviously not doing anything wrong as they were an official couple. The half step was enough, though, Banner dropped his trousers. 

"Oh," he looked down at the fabric covering his feet. "So that happened."

"Jane!" shouted Darcy excitedly, running up to her, hugging her, and kissing her right on the lips. "I missed you so freaking much! I've been so worried! Where are the babies? How..."

"Please," Jane interrupted her. "I've really missed you too, Darce, but I'm seriously mostly held together with glue, bandaids, and adhesive pads. If you squeeze me any more I'm going to leak more than just breast milk."

"Oh shit! Sorry!" Darcy stepped back. "B, you forgot your pants."

Dr. Banner had disembarked the elevator and passed them on the way to his room, giving them all an eyeful of what was the full glory of his bare backside. The stretched out trousers were left on the floor behind him. 

"I'm going to sleep for a week, I don't need pants." 

"Anthony is going to be so sad that he missed this," sighed Loki. "JARVIS, take some pictures."

"Already am, sir."

"Not to belittle anything..." said Jane with half a smile "...but there's a collapsing star out there and I'm plotting a course for it. Whenever you are ready, Bruce, you are welcome to join me."

"Collapsing... yes... go on..." Dr Banner stumbled with both his words and feet. 

Darcy ran forward to support him and put one of his arms around her shoulders. 

"I need to take care of him," she was a bit strained to keep her balance, as well as her robe closed, under the weight of the slumping man. "But Janey, you and I are going to have a long talk about everything later."

"I'm so glad you are safe," Jane pressed the elevator button for the Bridge. "But, you know, science."

Before the doors closed Loki saw Darcy smile fondly back at Jane. 

\------------------ 

"I am Groot," said Groot. 

"Yeah," Rocket glared at Peter. "What he said."

"I know, I know," Peter looked down at his hand that were resting nervously on his knees. "I'm a bit weirded out myself."

He was sitting on one of the Milano's landing gears. Rocket was replacing o e of the pressure pads that had gotten damaged in their last skirmish. Groot was just lounging around, eating fertiliser like small candy, and looking slightly judgemental. 

Peter's proud ship looked dwarfed next to the big mass that was the Heidrun, which was almost too big for the Station parking to handle. The proprietors must have moved some things around to accommodate the Earth ship. Understandable, since a landing was more expensive than a docking. 

Peter knew far too much about docking and landing fees.   
That was something you didn't know you had to deal with as an adventurer and hero, budget planning. This was especially hard when you only had three and a half years of schooling and then a decade of living with grumpy aliens with limited patience for economics and children. 

Though his childhood traumas were besides the point at the moment. He had more current, and more pressing, traumas to deal with. 

Ronan had left to go to the Heidrun med-bay to get patched up. Peter had gotten away with just some bruises and had awkwardly taken his leave to go freak out. That is, pull his hair, swear repeatedly, and kick a steel wall until his foot hurt. 

Unfortunately his freak out had been witnessed by Rocket and Groot. The both of them had been watching him as if it was a spectator sport. 

"You know that Ronan is still Ronan, right?" Rocket pointed to him threateningly with a screwdriver. "It's still the same dude that ruthlessly led Hela's armies, tried to kill us all, and almost blew up Xandar."

"Yeah..." Peter tried to clean his thumbnail with the edge of the hem of his dirty jacket. "But he kind of... restarted. I know he's all that you said. But... like... he forgot who he was, and when he remembered he had a real second chance to see himself in a new way and make, like... a choice?"

"And you're that choice?" Rocket raised an eyebrow. "You think very highly of yourself."

"No, no, no! I don't mean that at all! But, like... what would you do if you could start over?"

Rocket just stared at him. 

"I am Groot."

"Yeah, that was insensitive," Peter felt bad. "I'm sorry, dude."

Nobody knew what Rocket had been before being genetically tortured into being Rocket. Peter had a theory about animals being taken from Earth a long time ago by aliens unknown, and bred and experimented on until they came up with Rocket. He would never share this theory though, out of respect for his friend. 

"It's fine," grumbled Rocket and returned to his repairs. 

Peter did a strange nervous thing with his hands that not even he knew what it was, some kind of combination of rhythmic finger snapping, clapping, and gesturing. He ended it in two knee slaps and then decisively stood up, feeling even more awkward and stupid than before. 

"I'm gonna get something to eat, catch you later."

"Say hi to your boyfriend for me."

"He's not my boyfriend!"

"I am Groot," said Groot. 

Rocket snickered. Peter didn't even want to know, and he really wanted to kick that wall again. 

He walked over to the Heidrun loading bay ramp, it was up. He guessed that it because everyone was too busy to be put on guard duty. Though, he knew that the sentient computer could see him and he gave a weak waive to a sensor. 

"Mr Starlord," said the polite voice that actually freaked Peter out somewhat because in some strange way he associated its accent with bad guys. "How can I be of service? Do you wish to meet with Mr. Ronan?"

"No!" Peter said too loud and too fast. 

"Just as well," the computer continued. "Dr. Kingsley had to give him a sedative to calm down enough to even admit to where he was injured."

Peter fought a fond smile, and lost. He cursed himself. 

"Where's Gamora and Drax?"

"Ms Gamora is presently... otherwise engaged with Ms Hill. And Mr. Drax is assisting Commander Stark in rescuing Captain Rogers from being abducted by a brothel."

"Right..." 

Not exactly what you expected to hear about your childhood hero. The images it conjured in Peter's mind were too disturbing not to think about. Though in some of the more elaborate images the Captain had a bit bluer shade of skin than usual. 

"Actually, I'm getting information that they have split up. Mr. Wilson have just called me and reports that he and Mr. Drax have found Mr. Coulson..." the computer paused as if it was listening to someone talking, which it probably was. "Mr. Wilson also requests backup to calm down Mr. Drax."

"Great," Peter sighed, but was happy for the distraction. "Tell him I'm on my way. Where are they?"

"Mr. Wilson isn't sure, though he thinks it's some kind of temple."

Peter hesitated. There were three main places of worship on the station. They all coexisted very well despite their mostly different opinions in moral conduct. One of the biggest differences was that two of them were somewhat peaceful and one was not at all. For the whole station it evened out, but in the separate temples...

"Are the owners wearing blue, gold, or green?" he asked. 

There was a pause. 

"Green."

"Great," Peter tiredly rubbed his face. "The green is for making the sacrificial blood look darker."

"Oh," the computer sounded thoughtful. "Do you want back up for your backup?"

"Please," Peter started to jog towards the main area. 

He didn't get far. 

By the gate a huge hand suddenly grabbed hold of him, ruthlessly pulled him to his toes, and lifted him face to face with a very ugly, and very familiar, face. 

"Gwar," Peter tried to smile but it came out as a grimace. "Fancy running into you here."

"Your boss took my Champion from me, and I want it back."

"He's more of an acquaintance..." Gwar shook him violently. "But, yeah, yeah, I know who you mean. Let me down and I'll definitely tell you exactly who you can talk to."

Gwar growled but let Peter's toes just barely nudge the floor. The posse of about ten muscled and dirty halfwits flanking him did some threatening moves and proudly showed of their clubs, metal bats, and big knives. 

"Who?" Gwar's breath smelled like vinegar and mould. 

"Him," Peter pointed towards Heidrun. "The big blond guy with the hammer."

 

\----------------

Loki felt a strange connection with Jane as they both suffered from having their guts gruesomely cut open, and also them both being sufferers of Thor. Jane would probably not agree with the later, though there was still plenty of time to remedy that. 

Thor had just left the astrometric lab after quickly disposing two sleeping infants in Loki's and Jane's care. He had said that he needed to talk with Fendral privately, and the best place for the children was with their mother, and uncle. 

The twins could obviously not care less since both seemed to be in some sort of food-induced coma and wouldn't wake for at least some hours. So young and they were already taking after their father. 

Jane had just made sure that the children were comfortable and not in the way. Loki watched her with them, trying to assert if there was any behaviour that could be connected with the Idun potion or the emotional insight she had received with it. 

She was protective enough to keep them out of harm's way, but secure enough in knowing their safety that she could turn her back and work with the computers. 

"Look," she said in awe, letting the hologram table light up and display a floating image of the collapsing star. "Isn't it amazing? This light isn't even visible on Earth yet. Oh, there is already an audience forming. Almost twenty ships are already orbiting the twin star."

"Scientists, Recorders, and rich tourists," Loki looked closer at the image and enlarged it. "Fuck, there is an Asgardian ship. I guess Frendal didn't have to travel that far after all."

"Are they here for us?" Jane seemed quite worried. 

"More likely they are here for the star, it's a very rare and wondrous event. They probably got word from Nova Corp that we were close by."

"What are we going to do?"

"What we were going to do anyway. Go over there and look at the star. What ever happens after that is up to Thor to decide. Worst case scenario, I'm back in the dungeons, you will be getting married and bound by obligations to the palace, and your children will be handed over to the Vanir nursemaids"

"Nursemaids?" 

"Don't worry," Loki smiled one of his best fake smiles at her. "Vanir nursemaids are the Ines who raised Thor and me to be so pleasant and free of emotional scarring."

"So it's bad?"

"Yeah."

"So we shouldn't go?" she hesitated in trying to hide her disappointment but still fully understanding the situation. "I can watch it through the long range, it's almost as good..."

Loki gave her arm a quick, hopefully, thankful stroke. She was such a kind and brave woman. 

"I said that we are going, didn't I? Anyway, we are not without leverage. If it comes to it, I'll marry Anthony and they can't touch me without his permission, or at least his protection."

"Aren't you going to do that anyway?"

"Perhaps, but _if_ I do, I want to make it on my terms. That situation would be by force."

"I see." She stood quiet for a moment and contemplated the image of the Asgardian ship. "So, what can I do?" 

"We talked about this before, remember? Your best option is probably to talk to Thor and make him continue with what you already decided. Raise the children here with your friends and let them decide for themselves when they are old enough."

"Yeah..." Jane glanced over at the sleeping babies. "Oh shit!"

Loki ran over to the children and threw a spell to see what was wrong. What had happened? Magic? Radiation? Bursted blood vessels? Too much mucous? Did someone pee?

"Oh my god this is incredible!" cheered Jane from over by the monitors. 

"Did you see that star flare? It was like the size of Jupiter! It was green! Is that copper and sulphur? The spikes, look! Where is Bruce? Does anyone have my notebook?"

Loki just laughed and seated himself on the floor next to the babies. The sudden movement and burst of magic had made his stomach hurt, but he didn't really mind. He watched their mother as she was working herself into some kind of crazy scientist state over some numbers on a screen. He really wished Anthony could be there to see it, or join in on her enthusiasm. 

"JARVIS?" he looked to the nearest sensor. "Where is Anthony? Shouldn't he be back by now?"

"Mr. Stark has messaged that he's late because buying you a gift, and that you should be excited."

Loki didn't feel excited, he felt very uncomfortable.

"Also," added JARVIS. "Thor has also left a message that he has gone out for a moment, that you shouldn't worry, and that the mess outside the ship isn't his fault."

Loki sighed and stroked a gentle fingertip through the baby girl's soft hair. 

"Your father always know exactly what to say to put my mind at ease."

"Who sneezed?" Jane tore herself momentarily away from the screen to look over at him. "Are they cold? Should I ask Dummy to get some blankets?"

"All is fine," Loki sighed. "Though I wouldn't mind a blanket."

\----------

"I'm a bit jealous that you found more things in that shop than me," Tony widely avoided a street vendor that seemed interested in selling him something green and slimy. "And I had to pay for it! You could at least let me watch!"

They were walking back to the ship. Tony had memorised the way and was pretty confident he could find his way back. He was carrying a small pouch of sexy underwear and was flanked by Steve and Bucky who could look a little more like rough bodyguards and a little less like two hunky men that were eyeing each other out. 

"In you dreams," Bucky huffed. "That's all the watching you'll get."

"If you say so, bud."

"Bucky!" Steve sighed. "Cut it out, I don't want to be in his dreams. He's told me some of them and they are a bit disturbing. Seriously, Tony, you should go talk to Sam and let him help you with some of your problems."

"I don't have problems, you have problems."

"Really adult, Tony."

Tony sticked out his tongue at Steve before answering his phone that had just set off in a jaunty tune. 

"Wazzup, Jar Jar?"

"Sir, though I notice that you are in a good mood, I would request that you never ever call me that again."

"Yeah, I didn't like that movie either. So, what's going on?"

"All systems are ready, Dr. Foster has plotted anew course, and the Heidrun is ready for immediate departure as soon as everyone are aboard, sir."

"Excellent! Steve, Bucky, and me are on our way way. Has Sam and Drax found Coulson?"

"Yes, sir," said JARVIS. "They have also found Mrs. Coulson."

That made Tony drop his phone.


	18. Chapter 18

Tony Stark never expected that he one day would feel like he once would wish that his father would feel after worryingly pacing the floor waiting for him to get home. After experiencing the feeling he could sort of sympathise with Howard closing himself off to  
It. 

Though for Howard to close himself off, he would have needed to feel it at least once, and that Howard hadn't done. Now Tony was pacing the loading bay over worry for a man eight years his senior, he didn't know if it was ironic or just... as smart as he was, he didn't know. 

"Calm down," Loki sighed. "It's not that bad."

"You think?"

"Not as bad as my gift."

"Yeah, you didn't need to incinerate those."

"Yes, _my love_ , I did."

He probably did, agreed Tony to himself. Although Loki didn't know about the thing Tony had asked Bucky to hide in his and Steve's room. 

Again Tony wondered how he had ended up in a relationship like this? There was no use going on about it again, especially not now when there were other things to worry about. 

"You have a good heart," Loki stepped forward and put the tip of his forfinger against the hard surface of the small arc reactor under Tony's shirt. "It just needs a bit of fine tuning on the intent and direction."

"What does that even mean?" 

Tony watched the graceful finger attached to the beautiful hand and the tantalising wrist that disappeared into the dark green softness of Loki's shirtsleeve. He was getting turned on by things he never noticed was sexy before. Loki leaned forward and gave his lips a light kiss and moved away. 

"You're pure evil, babe."

"You just noticed that?" Loki smiled and looked past Tony's shoulder. "They're back. Oh, this will be interesting."

\------------------ 

Bruce did a great big yawn that made the nicks of his back knack. It felt good and he felt more rested than he had been in ages. 

A big noisy snore made him look behind him on the bed on which he was sitting. It was Darcy. Her bare legs were tangled in the covers, half her long hair was tangled across her face, she was hugging a pillow to her chest as if someone was going to steal it from her, and her mouth was open with a bit of drool coming out. 

She looked amazing and Bruce felt like the luckiest man alive. 

He got to his feet and cracked some more joints and muscles. He was naked, but then again, when wasn't he naked after a post-Hulk sleep? Judging from the dry sheets on the bad he had concluded he had been asleep for at least a day. It was even possible that the sheets had been changed while he slept. 

There was a painful pinch in his arm and he noticed that he was attached to a drip via a needle and a tube. The plastic bag was empty, he had absorbed it all. 

After a slightly painful removal of the needle, he looked around. His glasses were neatly folded together and placed on the writing desk. Putting them on made the room much clearer. Darcy still looked amazing. 

The label on the plastic bag was written in Kingsley's handwriting. It was a basic saline and nutritional solution. It was infused with a very mild sedative, not enough to keep him sleeping but enough to not make him have a sudden temper tantrum. 

Still, he felt awake and rested. He pulled on the black bathrobe hanging on the closet door, grabbed his shower bag, and left the room. He ignored his growling stomach for the benefit of cleaning away the smell of airlock and sweat. 

As he stepped inside the shower room he noted that two of the seven showers were occupied. There was a hue of steam in the room and across the mirrors. Bruce wiped the glass with his sleeve. 

Examining his face, the bags under his eyes, and stubble on his chin he reassessed the length since his last shave to about four days. His bread grew very irregularity as Hulk so it was just a guess. Either way, he had been out cold for quite a while. 

He had a small recollection that Darcy had been missing, though, obviously, she was back now. The thought made him smile, he remembered missing her. 

Bruce opened his shower bag to find his soap. He decided just to clean off, the beard could wait. Perhaps he could convince someone to play barber and get a good shave without straining himself. 

One of the showers turned off. Bruce looked up to the reflection of the stall in the mirror. 

A breathtakingly beautiful naked woman with dark-pink skin exited from behind the curtain. She was wringing out water from her long purple hair. The purple seemed a natural colour if one judged by the hair between her legs and under her arms

"Oh," she said, covering the nearly black nipples on her modestly curved chest. "I'm sorry!"

"No, no, no!" Bruce had quickly closed his eyes, and covered them with a hand just to be safe, his glasses were haphazardly pushed to his forehead. "It's totally my fault. I just woke up! I didn't update myself to any new schedule or new passengers..."

"Bruce!" a familiar voice called out. 

The other shower turned off and Bruce turned towards the sound without removing his hand. 

"Nat?"

"You look ridiculous," she laughed. "Hold on..." There was some rustling sounds. "Okay, you can look."

Bruce carefully removed his hand and pulled down his glasses. The two women were wrapped in big towels. He relaxed. 

Natasha gave him a big hug that he happily returned. He noticed that she wasn't pregnant any more. 

"Good thing you woke up, sleepyhead," she squeezed him once more before letting go. "We were debating last night if we should try shaking you."

"How long...?" he glanced down at her stomach. 

"Just a couple of cycles, but we're coming up to something that you would kill yourself for missing."

"Oh?" Bruce frowned as looked to the pink woman. 

"Greetings," she made a short but polite bow, she reminded him of a stewardess. "My name is Careet, Darcy has told me all about you."

"Really? I hope she didn't scare you."

"Not at all," she laughed holding her hand in front of her mouth. "Her description of you couldn't scare anyone who understands how sincere she is. Also, I saw you hold her when she got back."

This surprised Bruce, he felt himself blush. 

Nat patted Careet's arm. 

"You go on ahead and start dinner, I'll be right there. I just going to get Bruce a bit up to speed."

"Of course," Careet gathered some flasks together from a sink into a small bag. "No hurry, Sam was going to show me how to use the big oven."

"Well, what could go wrong with that?" smirked Natasha. 

Careet bowed to Bruce again before leaving. 

"I'm sorry!" he called after her. 

"It's all right," she waived as she left the room. 

Bruce turned back to Natasha, she was observing him with those knowing spy-eyes of hers. It was a familiar look, she was assessing how she was to approach a sensitive subject. 

"It's fine," Bruce smiled, turning back to his shower bag, he found his toothbrush. "I'm so down on calories right now that I doubt I could turn even if I tried."

"Well..." she leaned herself against the row of sinks "...totally we have gained ten new people on the crew."

"Twelve?" He stopped halfway to his mouth with the brush. "That's quite a lot."

"Thirteen, If you count the new dog, but, according to the new reality, he has always been here."

"New reality?"

"Long story," she grimaced. "They used the Stone."

Which meant that Tony had broken into Bruce's laboratory and safe. 

"O-kay..." Bruce counted in his head. "So... Careet, and. I assume the Guardians..." he glanced down at her body again. "You had your baby."

"Kind of," she shifted slightly. "Pumpkin, she's with Clint. Jane had the twins just after you turned and I... had my baby a few hours later."

Bruce understood there was a deeper story that she didn't want to gone to at the moment. 

"So that's eight..." he was still holding in to his toothbrush without putting it closer to his mouth. 

"A woman named Tien has been assigned by the Nova Corp to be our liaison to them. Apparently they feel that we need to be under observation. Thor's friend Fendral has been ordered by Odin to do the same for Asgard."

"It fella good to be trusted," hummed Bruce and finally put the brush in his mouth. 

"Tony said the same," Natasha shook her head in amusement. 

"And one more? Another observer?"

"No," she made a face between dislike and resignation. "Phil has a wife now."

Bruce coughed as he almost stuck the toothbrush down his throat. 

"One of Ronan's former underlings, Gamora's adoptive sister. She thought she had a better chance of seeking asylum if tied to one of us..." Nat sighed. "She is confined to her room at the moment, but Phil doesn't seem to mind being married to her, though. I haven't figured that part out yet."

"This is a little too much information to process at once. How am I going to keep track of all this?"

"Don't worry," Natasha gave him a sympathetic smile. "It'll hopefully clear up eventually. Oh, and there is a cat-thing as well. Don't freak out if it jumps on your face when you're lying down, it's just showing affection."

"Is it too late to go back to bed?"

\------------ 

Before Loki had confined himself to the Freeze Machine he had said that it felt degrading to dock to the Asgardian ship during the creation of the black hole. 

Clint could agree with that. It was like an adult insisting of holding your hand when you are already old enough to know that you shouldn't get to close to the edge. Not the adults Clint grew up around of course, they had pushed him out on the high trapeze in the big tent even before he had quit wearing diapers. 

He could relate though, Nick Fury hadn't let him do solo missions until his third year at SHEILD. 

Clint was walking the dogs to the conservatory. Cow was moving carefully and slightly limping, but was in an obvious good mood thanks to the energetic golden retriever teenager Chewbaka jumping around them. 

Pumpkin was secured to Clint's chest by several straps that Tony had made from elastics that used to be for holding cargo in place, it was quite comfortable except for the drool on his shirt. 

"I guess Daddy has to get used to that, don't he?" Clint patted the sweet smelling red curls on Pumpkin's head. "You slobber worse than Thor on taco night."

As he entered the sliding environment control doors to the conservatory he was met by Phil having a meeting with Groot, Peter, Rocket, and Sam. They were huddled around the plant nursery table examining a small yellow plant with small clusters tiny red berries. 

Well, Rocket was too short to huddle. He was sitting on on the floor tinkering with some irrigation pipes. At least Clint hoped it was irrigation pipes. 

Phil looked strangely normal, but then again Clint knew his former handler far too well to believe what was showing on his face. 

Chewbaka immediately ran over to give the back of Rocket's pants and tail a whiff. Rocket growled but that only made the dog more happy. 

"Get away," Rocket made a fake threatening move to hit him. 

Chewbaka barked something like a laugh, made a pirouette, and joined Cow over by the sandpit that they used as a doggy toilet. Rocket glared fondly at them. 

"Hi, guys," Clint joined the group by the nursery table. "What's up?"

Groot made a pleasant purr and leaned in to look at Pumpkin. The treeperson was getting quite big and tall thanks to his good diet. He smelled nice too, like a ancient forest after a summer rain. Clint couldn't help but to breathe it in. 

"This thing has started to mature," Sam indicated the yellow plant. "It's supposed to be a good source of magnesium and vitamin D."

"Tastes a bit like half-rotten strawberries though," said Phil. 

"It's a taste that grows on you," admitted Peter. 

"Why don't you try some?" Sam picked a tiny berry between his thumb and forefinger and held it out to Clint's mouth. "You're our master taster, perhaps you can come up with an idea to use it in cooking."

Clint hesitated, but then leaned forward to let Sam feed the berry to him. He couldn't show himself as a coward in front of his sleeping infant daughter. He chewed carefully as his magically evolved tastebuds took in the alien berry juice. 

"Yeah...,hrm..." he coughed. "Rotten strawberries, definitely that, but it does feel like they are healthy for you..." he scratched his tongue with his teeth. "It would probably be best to hide the taste with some of Tony's moonshine, but I guess you can pickle them or something."

Phil nodded and made some notes on a Stark-pad. Groot was obliviously coddling with the yellow plant. 

Clint glanced around to the others.

"I'm on dinner-duty," Sam gave him a meaningful look and the indicated his head towards Phil. "You're fine here, right? I need to meet up with Careet and Nat."

"Yeah," Clint nodded. 

Peter shifted his eyes between Clint, Sam, and Phil. Rocket was pretending not to be nervously picking his his claws with a splinter from Groot. 

Apparently there had been a discussion about the obvious situation among those not busy with the collapsing star, or with healing themselves, while Clint had been asleep. Apparently there had been a consensus among the crew that Clint was Phil best friend onboard. Also apparently, they had voted Clint as their spokesman. 

Sam gave him an encouraging pat on the back before leaving. 

"I am Groot," said Groot and followed Sam out of the conservatory. 

Chewbaka ran after him but stopped by the door, smelled it, and turned around to run around the conservatory some more. Cow just sighed and lied down on the floor. 

"Where's he going?" asked Clint. 

"He's kinda interested in human cooking now," Rocket shrugged and rolled his eyes. "He's a bit weird since he was blown up and regrown."

"So..." Clint cleared his throat, Phil looked up. "I- I really blame myself."

"For what?" he frowned. 

"It was me who let Nebula join us, without me she wouldn't have gotten to you. She was only going to show us to the bar, but then..."

"Clint," Phil sighed. "I know you all think I'm mad for going along with her plan. Trust me, I've been thinking that myself quite a lot lately. Back on Earth I would have thought twice about taking her into a SHEILD containment centre. But..." he took a breath "...we're not on Earth anymore."

"Dude," Peter shook his head. "I like to believe there is good in everyone too, but that chick is batshit crazy. She can't be reformed. I've fought her, she tried to kill me. And before you say it, It's different from Ronan. He was forced by circumstances to be that way, but she was actually born and made for it."

Everyone looked at her m for a moment, he seemed to quickly realise that it hadn't been a good argument. Rocket just shook his head, hiding his face with in his freakish paws that looked exactly like black little creepy hands. Clint had some issues, okay? 

"I just think she needs a second chance," Phil said patiently. "This is basically the ship of second chances. She really cared for that man who hired her when she was desperate. She took care of the polebear."

Clint shivered. The polebear had sat itself on his face while he was taking a nap. It weighed more than Chewbaka, though only half his size, and had more hair than a yeti. 

"She forced you to bond with her in a blood ritual," Rocket frowned. "I saw the pictures, it was nasty."

"Can we change the subject?" Phil sighed. "How's Ronan?"

"He's still refusing to leave his quarters," Peter poked the yellow plant's earth pot. "He won't talk to anyone, and he only opens the door for food. He seems sad for some reason."

Clint was going to make a joke about having the blues, but he stopped himself in time. Not even Pumpkin would have appreciated that one. He definitely had to practice on the be dad-jokes now that he was one. 

A dad, not a joke, though some people might say he was both. 

"So...." He turned to Phil. "You are realising that Thanos is your father in law now, right?"

\----------

"Loki, come out of there."

"Are we still attached to the Asgardian ship?"

"Yes," nodded Thor. "We are."

"Then I'm perfectly fine here. Please close the lid, you are letting all the cold out."

By pure spite Loki didn't hold back his jotun form, it made it hard for Thor to look him in the eye. 

"Didn't Fendral apologise to you?" Thor asked. 

"He did, on your insistence. Still staying in here."

"What about the star? Don't you want to see it collapse?"

"I have ordered a wake up call, there is no need to come out before that."

"Tony..."

"Anthony is too busy with his new toy, he's better of without my disappointing distraction to his already troubled mind."

Thor paused and looked him over. Loki had said too much. He tried to close the lid to hide his embarrassment but Thor held on to it. 

"Will you at least come to the naming ceremony?"

"I suppose it will be occurring after Jane stops being distracted, but before the Asgardian ship leaves us?" 

"It will," confirmed Thor. "And we wish for you and Tony to be their ceremonial guardians."

Loki stared at him in shock and amazement. Being a ceremonial guardian more or less meant that if Thor were to die before the twins came of age Loki would become king of Asgard, no matter where or what state he would be in. He could be Thor's proven murderer and sit on the golden throne in his full jotun skin and nobody could do anything about it. 

Not even oppose him killing the twins, the magical bond was that strong. That was one of the reasons why aristocrats and royals mostly disregarded that part of the ceremony. 

"Y-you would... you would do that?"

"I trust you, brother." Thor smiled. "I love you. And you'll have Tony to keep you in line."

That was right, Loki gave a short amused laugh. The pure fact that there needed to be two ceremonial guardians for a pair of twins was actually a safety measure. 

"I love you too," Loki smiled. "But if you tell anyone you will loose your ability to procreate younger siblings for your children."

"I'll keep that in mind," Thor looked far too amused for Loki's liking. 

"And that goes for you too, JARVIS," Loki glared at a sensor. "I will mess up your programming so that you won't be able to separate a basic one from a zero."

He had heard Anthony male that threat once and had wanted to use it, he didn't exactly know what it meant but it sounded very good and threatening. 

"Yes, sir," said the polite computer.

Thor was still smiling. 

"Don't look at me that way, you buffoon, it's not that I'm going to jump in your arms to thank you." Loki leaned back in the Freeze Machine. "Go away and close the lid."

"Excuse me?"

Both of them turned to look at the door into the small room. The voice had been so hesitant and low, so it was a bit of a surprise to see that It was Ronan who was standing there. 

"Yes?" Loki leaned forward to look around the beef that was Thor. 

Ronan looked haggard. There was a short black stubble on his bald head, his eyes were slightly sunken, and his clothes seemed like he had slept in them. 

"I was wondering..." the hesitation was very strange and it almost made Loki worried. 

"What is it?"

"I was wondering if it was possible to remove the part of my brain again."


	19. Chapter 19

"I am Groot."

"Mhmm," Tony leafed through the files displayed on his StarkPad. 

"I am Groot."

"Really?" He sipped his coffee. 

"I am Groot."

"Well, that is just nasty." He enlarged a part of a file and waited for the translation script to work is magic. 

Tony had no idea what Groot was saying, he only thought it impolite not to talk back. Although he had a sneaking suspicion that the wooden guy was just messing around with him. 

"Hi Tony."

Tony looked up from the rolling algorithm. He had to blink twice to make his eyes focus to the real world. 

"Bruce!" he grinned. "My not so green main man! Welcome back, sweetie!"

"Thanks..." Bruce put down his tray of high-nutrition food on the table and sat down opposite Tony. " _...sweetie._ " 

Bruce looked curiously to Groot who was sitting on the floor observing Sam and Careet who were going through the pantry. Sam was giving the new girl a crash course in Heidrun's kitchen organisation, cooperative management, and basic hygiene. All that boring basic stuff that Tony never bothered to learn, because of his boss-privileges he wasn't on the chore rota. 

Groot had been watching them, it was a bit disturbing. Tony had been trying to find out what was going on, but unfortunately he couldn't understand him, and neither could Sam and Careet. 

"Hi, Groot," said Bruce. 

"I am Groot," nodded Groot.

Tony had been planning on heading back to the lab and continue examining the Champion, but decided he could hang out with Bruce some first. It had been a while since they had had a opportunity to just hang. 

He pushed the StarkPad to the side. 

"Did you get the update on the star?" He asked while getting up and walking over to the coffee machine. 

"Yeah," Bruce talked with food in his mouth, but that was understandable during the circumstances. "It's awesome!" He chewed. "So... I heard we have imprisoned Phil's wife."

"She's an evil female half cybernetic con artist that has brainwashed our friend." Tony then shrugged. "Or at least according to the Guradians she is. Ronan hasn't said anything about it, but they did have that big fight, and Tein says she's very dangerous. Also she isn't imprisoned, she's under room arrest."

Bruce chewed his food thoughtfully. Tony took the opportunity to look over his StarkPad, the translations were done. He marked them and moved on to another file. Bruce swallowed. 

"You want to examine her cybernetics, don't you?" 

"So fucking bad."

Sam and Careet came back out from the pantry carrying some tin cans. Tony noticed that Bruce blushed quite heavily when Careet smiled at him, there seemed to be something more than her obvious beauty that embarrassed his friend. 

"What does she say for herself?" Bruce cleared his throat. 

"That she won't apologise for nothing, that we all are inferior fools, and that she demands to see her husband."

"She seems quite sincere," noted Sam coming out of the pantry with an armful of tomato sauce tin cans. "But it's had to tell if she's a chaotic evil or neutral evil."

"Nerd," huffed Tony.

"Geek," countered Sam. 

Careet looked confused. She was sweet, but she would need a crash course in Earth stuff if she was going to be part of the crew. In the meantime she just has to keep up the best as she can. 

"The age-old war between our two species continues," Tony joked and mocked a closed fist towards Sam. "We will never surrender to the dark side..." The StarkPad pinged. "Ah!"

"What is it?" asked Bruce leaning forward. 

"JARVIS has finished downloading the Asgardian ship's computer core. It's the only reason why I agreed to dock with them. Soon we will find out what they really want from us. I won't let them mess with my boyfriend, that's for sure."

"That's sounds pretty risky," Sam was showing Careet how to use a can opener, apparently another thing that was completely Earth-bound. "What will you do if you get found out?"

"I'll say Thor gave his permission," Tony looked through the list of file names. 

"Has he?"

"If they ask him he will say that h has given it."

"You are insane," commented Sam. "If I was a real psychologist, and not just someone pretending to be one, then I would tell you to come talk to me. As it is now, I'm still gonna ask you."

"I am Groot," Groot agreed, protested, or said to himself. 

Tony just ignored them and returned to looking through the Asgardian files, highlighting them in categories of interest. Sam chuckled, clearly knowing he had hit a sore spot and that Tony wasn't going to fess up to it. It was absolutely some kind of long con. Everyone on this ship were devious bastards. 

"Speaking of boyfriends," Bruce swallowed what he had in his mouth and smirked. "Nat said you bought Steve as a gift for Bucky."

"And who told her that?"

"Bucky."

"I'm sure Steve is happy about that," Tony sighed. "Oh, hello there!"

He had caught sight of a file that looked quite interesting. 

\---------- 

"Is this going to take long?" Jane asked. "I have important work to do,"

"You are a mother now," said the tall big-breasted Asgardian nurse that they were trying to thrust upon her. "What is more important work than that?"

"Showing them that commitment and the continuous search for knowledge are things to strive for."

She crossed her arms, hindering the entire Asgardian delegation to board Heidrun through the airlock. She didn't care that she was one tiny human perhaps two thirds the size of any other person present, the Valkyrie wannabe was not going to come near the babies. 

"This is one of the most rarest of celestial events, and I'm going to learn all I can about it, so that when my children grow up and learn about the universe they can say 'my mother was there!' And they will feel pride that I cared so much for them that I wanted to give them the greatest gift of all, knowledge."

"Jane..." coaxed Thor. "Maybe we should consider their proposal."

Usually Jane would probably have listened to Thor, but Loki had really scared her. If even half of what he was saying was true, and at least half of it probably was, she had no desire to do anything that could put her in a position where she didn't have control or access to her children. 

"Are you saying you don't trust Steve and Bucky to babysit?"

"Of course I do, but..." he shifted slightly. 

"Can we speak to your Commander, perhaps?" asked the Asgardian representative, a man with the exterior of a man in his late fifties, though his real age was most likely in his early four-thousand. 

"No," said Jane. "He is busy doing his job, as I should be doing."

"Please, Lady Jane," Fendral gave her a smile that should by all means make her swoon. "You have to realise that your children are the future of Asgard."

"Only if they want it themselves."

"This is outrageous," the representative huffed and turned to Thor. "My prince, I beg of you to make your lady see reason."

Thor sighed. Jane knew that Thor knew he had lost.

"This ship is a democracy," Jane took a step forward that made her bend her neck up even more. "I am the chief navigator, chief of the astrometric lab, and second scientist. That makes me the fifth highest ranking officer onboard, and I sure as hell know that none of the four others would agree to this."

It had been hard to convince the Asgardians that Thor had no real authority on the ship except for an equal democratic vote. It had been even harder to convince them that Loki had the exact same power. 

Although, admitted Jane with a secret amused smirk to herself, Loki was probably the highest ranking on the ship since he could probably make Tony do anything. She almost feared to think what Loki could do if he could add sexual, or even sensual, arguments into the mix. 

"At least let the wet nurse aboard," pleaded Fendral with his handsome smile hiding his obvious discomfort of speaking of such female things. "What your healer calls his _formula_ can't compare to the rich milk of a strong woman."

"Are you saying that I'm not strong?"

Jane knew she wasn't strong, at least not physically, even less so in her post-surgical state, but she was curious to know how Fendral would argue his way out. She didn't get to hear it, because Thor put his big comforting hand across her shoulder blades. Sometimes she hated that she loved him for knowing just were to touch her. 

"We should take that offer," he said. "We can't deny them good food.

He was right, irritatingly enough. 

"Fine," Jane smiled up at him, and then turned back to Fendral. "I will allow you to go to the Med Bay and get a breast pump." 

\-----------------

"Are you sure?" 

Loki and Ronan were sitting in Ronan's quarters. They had left the Med Bay behind for the more private location of conversation, even though the computer as usual could hear every word they were saying. They trusted his discretion. 

"Yes," Ronan looked down at his clenched blue hands. "I want to forget it all again."

Loki nodded. He could definitely relate, and would wish it for himself if possible. 

The Kree people were an aristocratic and segregated race that expanded over several planet-systems. Those who had the questionable privilege to be born into the higher race, class, and a family of high social standing had their faiths thrust upon them quite ruthlessly. 

Ronan had drawn the straw of destiny to fitting into all three categories. His skin was blue, he was of the rich warrior class, and the last member of a family of important leaders. It must have put him high on the marital market, at least before his war crime slash righteous revenge. 

Loki was spending too much time with humans. He had never used the phrase 'slash' before other than in sword fighting. Anyway, and also in slightly regard to, it was probably a strange kind of relief to be declared dead. 

The Kree weren't unlike Asgardians, actually. And Ronan wasn't so different from any other people being lied to that they were of Asgardian royal blood but really being of a different race all together and wasn't told about it until your real birth father, who was the monster that you were taught to fear and hate as a child, tries to kill you because your adoptive brother is a rash brute who can't... But this was about Ronan. 

Ronan had also been an Accuser, a man of Kree law, a decorated soldier, and then a traitor to his own people by standing and acting against several peace treaties. Now he was officially dead in every sense of the word, except for being alive. 

"Since I am dead..." said Ronan as if he had heard Loki'a thoughts "...I have lost all my Kree standing, even my family and birthrights. I am unborn. All I have is my self-earned fortune, and that is only because I didn't have any heirs... I am alone."

"You have us," Loki was tired and being a caring voice of reason was taking its toll on his temper and souls. 

"How can I..." Ronan interrupted himself with a frustrated roar, and then he shattered the little bed table to wooden pieces by hitting it with a angry and sudden fist. 

Loki didn't care about the table, he hadn't decorated the non-personalised quarters, he just watched it shatter. Most of the furniture in here were from the old SHEILD hellicarriers, and it probably needed an update. 

"How can you make him yours if you remember what you did?"

Loki knew what was up. It was almost horrific how much he recognised himself in Ronan. It was hard to give advice about a question you were still asking yourself even after the matter had been apparently resolved. 

"If you removed your memory, he would still remember what happened," noted Loki. 

"Then you can let me forget him as well," Ronan breathed. "Make me forget and leave me on one of the peripheral Kree Empire outcast planets... I can't continue like this..."

"Any particular outcast planet?" Loki sighed and adjusted his seat on the bedding, this really was a job better suited for someone with more empathy. "I hear some of them can be pretty bad even for dead people."

Ronan didn't answer. It was impossible to tell if he was trying to remember his Kree geography class, thought about his choices, or if he was just mourning for his basically second passing. 

It wasn't possible to remove the now returned part of Ronan's brain again. Not even with the help of a top magician and all the old medical scans as guidance could something so incredible be recreated. 

What Loki had at his disposal was his own handicapped magic, the Soul stone, the Reality stone, and whatever he could find aboard the Asgardian ship. With that he could create a form of mental blockage. 

"It can be done," Loki sighed again. "No doubt about it. You can definitely be able to forget yourself. But at what cost, and at what magnitude? I could just as well fry your brain as restore you to your old form of ruthlessness. Say nothing of the subconscious part..."

"It's better than this."

"Shouldn't you talk to him first?"

"What if he tries to stop me?" Ronan looked at Loki with genuine fear in his purple eyes. "What if he doesn't?"

"Sounds like you still have some thinking to do."

Loki grunted as he got to his feet. His bandage needed to be changed and for that he had to find Anthony. Sure, Kingsley did a better and more efficient with the bandages, but Anthony was gentle did it with reverence. He loved to watch the concentration and care that was reflected in Anthony's face when taking care of him. 

He looked to Ronan. The blue man was in pretty bad shape himself. He had a large bandage around his left shoulder. 

"How are your injuries?" he asked. 

"Better," Ronan frowned. "Those cursed cowards, if I still had my authority I would have them flogged and thrown into the pits."

"Perhaps that was the reason they jumped you." Loki walked over to the door. "I'll ask Med Bay to send over fresh bandages for you. Last down and rest. And think over what you really want to do."

He gave a short nod and left Ronan's quarters. The Kree needed some time to think this over. 

"JARVIS, ask Peter Quill to bring new bandages to Ronan's quarters."

"Immediately, sir."

"And where is Anthony?"

"In the kitchen, but is about to leave."

Loki stopped for a moment to pause in front of the quarter that held Coulson's new spouse. He knew of her name and reputation even more than he had let on. 

After his fall from Bifrost, after his fall through nothingness, during his... 'stay' with Thanos, he had even met her a couple of times. 

Nebula had never been... assigned to his case, as Gamora had. Though she wasn't all without blame in the prolonging of his suffering. 

Loki had been somewhat surprised that Anthony had agreed to take her onboard. Humans did take requests for asylums very seriously, but this was above that. The marriage to Coulson couldn't be the reason, Anthony didn't acknowledge religious laws as actual laws so the marriage was void as far as he was concerned. 

As Ronan, Nebula had been born to her station. Even more so when she was given to Thanos as a daughter in exchange for what ever her birth parents, now most likely long since brutally dead, owed him. 

"Is she comfortable?" he asked. 

"As well as we can provide comfort without compromising safety," answered JARVIS. ""She seems calm, but calculating. She has asked for nothing except for the health of the polebear."

She had refused to let the animal be locked up with her, it now roamed free on the ship. Perhaps it showed some kindness, or perhaps just an impatience to deal with it. 

"Is she bored?" 

"Immensely."

Most entertainment onboard would be a safety risk in her hands. She didn't know English, and didn't have the Allspeak, so books and movies were lost on her. The old Loki would like to see her rot for a while longer, but the new Loki felt slightly different. 

"Let her see the star on one of the monitors," he started walking again. "Not w en prisoners should be denied such a sight."

"Yes, sir."

\-------------------- 

Tony hummed to himself as he weighed on his feet in the elevator. He had left the kitchen about the same time as Nat arrived. She had promised to make him pirogues. Tony loved Nat's secret recipe, and the small meat-and-vegetable stuffed buns were perfect to put in the workshop microwave when he didn't want to interrupt his work doing awesome stuff. 

It also kept a some of the more consistent complainers off Tony's back when they didn't want him not to work twenty hours straight. If only sleep could come in handy small, non-drug, packages as well everything would be grand. 

"Babe!" he greeted happily as the elevator stopped and Loki got in. "You look fabulous as always."

"Stop trying to be charming," Loki smiled at him. "It suits you too well and it makes me think that you have something to hide."

"I'm not hiding anything," Anthony was still smiling, though he changed it to something a bit mor conniving. "Unlike the brave and noble Asgardians. I'm an open book."

"Now you have intrigued me, my love," Loki took a step closer. "Tell me."

"They are not here only to look at the star, convince Thor to come back to  
them, spy on us, and try to find out your nefarious plans..."

"Oh? I didn't know I had such plans, but things can always change. What gave you found out?"

"They are running tests on the Tesseract. The Space stone is onboard the ship."

"Oh fuck no," Loki smacked his own face. "The idiots are idiots! Well, no surprise there... why would they even...?"

Loki had no words for this. Not even his fear for the calculating gleam on Anthony's face could over shine his incomprehension of the length Asgardians could go to show that millennia of wisdom and culture couldn't take away the animalistic brute at the base at it all. Even humans were doing better at this point. 

"Apparently it has been giving out some freaky vibes since it came back to Asgard."

"Five-hundred years forgotten in a midgardian crypt and then eighty years of probing by inept and primitive humans can probably do that to a semi-conscious stone." 

"It always warms my heart to know your true feelings for humanity. But I do confess that we have a preference of wanting to poke alien stuff where it shouldn't, oughtn't, or doesn't want to, be poked."

Tony knew he had hit the mark when Loki gave him a killing, but oh so sexy, glare. He smiled innocently back. 

"I know what you are thinking, my love," Loki smirked. 

"Does it have to do with coconut oil and you washing your hair?"

"The other thing you are thinking."

"Creating a robot army Iron Man Champions to take over the universe?"

"Maybe later," Loki leaned back in the elevator, even if it already had reached the bridge several seconds ago. "I'm only going to help you steal the Stone so we can send it so far away that it can never be found before there are means to destroy it forever."


	20. Chapter 20

"I count five luxury liners, twelve sightseeing ships, and twenty-eight small private ones." Jemma pointed the ships marked out in the holographic display. "They all seem to be holding a lower rotation around the twin star, at the Nova Corp issued safety margin."

They were in the Navigation-slash-Astrometric lab. At the moment it was only Tony, Loki, Jemma, and Leo there. Maria and Gamora were on the Bridge next door keeping the ship steady and flirting in the disturbing way only highly trained female assassins could flirt when they were pretending not to flirt at all. 

The holographic projector table was showing the area of space between the collapsing supernova and its twin that wouldn't reach the same fate for at least thirteen millennia, if it hadn't been sucked in by the gravity of its soon to be black hole sibling by then. 

It was a metaphor for something, but Tony could leave that for more poetically inclined persons than him. 

He glanced at Loki, who probably could say a thing or seventeen if given the premise. At the moment Loki was directing his poetic, and slightly twisted, mind to the perfect rendered image of the supernova. The light gave his thoughtful face a mysterious wistfulness that made Tony's heart beat at a higher pace. 

"Should we go for a luxury liner on our honeymoon?"

"No."

"I'll send for a brochure. Are there travel agents in space?"

Loki glared at him. 

"The sightseeing margin is about hundred million kilometres," awkwardly continued Leo, marking the distance with a holographic line. "Its about the same distance as between our sun and Venus."

"The five science ships, excluding us, are marked green," Jemma pointed to a more brighter green spor. "We and the Asgardians are here at the scientific safety margin, at sixty million kilometres, about Mercury-distance."

Leo stepped forward and zoomed in on their position. He looked tired, and he had some visual bruising, but he seemed eager to get back to work. Tony trusted JARVIS to keep an eye on him with continuous basic medical scans. 

"The Heidrun by itself, with its present sh-shielding, would actually need to be back at the sightseeing margin, but since we are do-docked to the Asgardians we are safe here."

Loki huffed, mostly to himself. Tony gave him a questioning look. 

"When you hold your big brother's hand you feel a bit braver," he bitterly sighed. "However deceitful you know that brother to be."

"Issues much, babe?" 

Loki glared at him, but there was some humour behind it. Jemma cleared her throat and went on with the presentation. 

"The red markers outside the margin are unmanned equipment and probes, they will most likely be sucked in by the collapse. The yellow spots are natural debris, asteroids and such, and the white areas are anti-matter pockets."

That made Tony regain focus. 

"Anti-matter pockets?"

"Yes," Jemma excitedly turned to a touchscreen on the wall and made some moves to get up an image of a kind of spatial distortion. "They seem to be created naturally within the supernova's electromagnetic field. We are keeping close tabs on them."

She seemed had some difficulty, and minor pain, with her injured arm, but Tony could see _Science_ shining in her eyes and knew she was okay.

"Is it possible to harvest some?" Tony zoomed in even more. "Or at least take a sample?"

"W-we need our own unmanned probe for that," Leo held out a StarkPad. "I have made some sketches and calculations, but you sh-should probably be the one to build it."

"Why don't we take a crack of it together?" Tony took the pad and looked it over. "Go down to the big lab and start working on something, ask Bruce to help you if he's done stuffing himself. I'll be down when I've finished my rounds."

"Th-th-th-thank you!" 

Leo smiled like a three-year-old who hadn't yet learned to talk back, or develop an opinion of his own, that got to sit on his father's workbench while his usually very neglecting father taught him how a circuit board worked... Tony closed his eyes and took a breath. 

He felt a gentle hand press down on his back for just a moment. Loki had him. His boyfriend might not like touch, but he would hold tightly on to Tony if he fell, as would Tony.

He opened his eyes. 

Leo seemed to be too excited to notice the lapse. He and Jemma were talking strategies on what they wanted the probe to be able to do. They would only have time to construct one, and they couldn't rely on the other scientific ships to share their findings. 

"How're we doing?" Jane walked into the room. 

She was obviously on edge. Tony knew she had been talking to the Asgardians, but didn't ask about it. He had a policy of not speaking of personal matters of his crew if it wasn't brought up by themselves in conversation. 

Of course, policies were meant to be broken, at least Tony's, but he felt that this situation was s bit more volatile than usual. He therefore restricted himself on giving the report.

"We are holding at safety margins, a probe is being constructed, and the Asgardians have the Tessaract aboard their ship."

There was a moment of silence as Jane proceeded this. Jemma and Leo was also staring at him. Loki just looked irritated and bored. 

"I thought I felt something," Jane finally nodded. "I just thought it was regular anger... Are you going to take it?"

"Girl, please. Do you even know who you're talking to?"

 

\------------- 

Steve shifted the baby girl on his arm and glanced nervously at Bucky. His best friend turned boyfriend turned... owner? He still felt bad for putting himself and his friends in the position they were in. If he had been more decisive and, frankly speaking, curious of what would happen if he played along, perhaps he could have saved Phil Coulson from a marriage to a intergalactic assassin. 

"Should we really be watching this?" 

"Hmm?" Bucky didn't look away from the TV-screen where a barefoot man was shooting out a skyscraper's windows with a machine gun. "Tony said it's a classic."

"I know..." Steve looked to the baby boy who was on a blanket on the floor staring up at the lights on the ceiling "...I don't know if it's appropriate for the kids."

"You are joking right now, aren't you?" Bucky turned to him in disbelief. "Steve, they are a week old, they are being raised by superheroes, and their father is a god of war. I think they're fine."

"Okay..." Steve sighed. "I've just never babysat before."

"And you think I have? Well, there were some Hydra-agents that could compare..."

"Same could probably be said about some of the soldiers and officers back during the war."

"See, love, we have lots of experience!"

"'Love'?" Steve frowned. 

"Yeah, I didn't like it either. I think we should give up on the cute nicknames. We're never going to find any. 'Steve' and 'Bucky' are nicknames already."

"But not as cute," said Clint who was just walking into the common room, followed by a happy puppy and the robot named You who was giving the other dog a ride. "Try some food-related names. Like honey, peach, bean, or even butterscotch."

"Your daughter's name make perfect sense now," said Bucky and pressed pause on the movie. 

Clint laughed. 

"Do you mind looking after her as well?" He nodded down to the baby strapped to his chest. "Just for an hour or so. Nat's cooking and I need to help out Phil with some kind garden stuff."

The archer was obviously very astute in horticulture and wouldn't at all be asked to climb around the conservatory setting up water pipes and drains. Steve was glad that for once that his muscular frame did it harder to do such tasks. 

"Sure," Bucky shrugged. "We are already degraded to babysitters, so why not one more?"

"Aw," Clint mocked. "Is the little assassin bored?"

"How is Phil?" asked Steve quickly to deflect Bucky's dangerous glare. 

"In denial, if you ask me. I'm going to see if I can talk to him."

"And how are you?" 

"Holding myself together by the string of my bow," he smiled. "No, but seriously, I'm fine. I just need to get back to some routine."

"Do you mind that the movie is on?"

Clint paused in his disentanglement of wraps and tiny human and narrowed his eyes at the screen where a bloodstained man was also paused, though in the middle of throwing a another man of a building. 

"Naw," Clint placed Pumpkin on Bucky's chest. "Can't never go wrong with the classics."

Steve let the double negative slide because of Bucky's absolute and adorable fear of being trapped underneath an infant. 

"Tale care of my baby girl, Steely Dan," Clint stroked Pumpkin's head. "Or her mommy will bite you when she comes to pick her up."

He then ruffled up Bucky's hair, gave Steve a wink, and then quickly left the room knowing very well he was playing with death and that his daughter had probably just saved his life. 

Steve leaned over and pushed away the hair from Bucky's face and fastened it behind his ears. He smiled as the deep blue eyes became visual again. 

"You look good with a kid," he said. 

"Don't get any ideas, Rogers."

"Like what, Barnes?" Steve carefully leaned forward to kiss Bucky's lips. "Pack up the babies, steal one of the ships in the loading bay, and live our lives as a happy family on a faraway planet where we can live if the land, grow fat, and stop fighting bad guys?"

"Sounds very tempting," Bucky began gently stroking Pumpkin's red head-fuzz with a finger. "But you have forgotten something important with that plan. You know very well that I would never let you grow fat."

"Mission aborted then," Steve laughed. "Hey, you! Oh..."

The last was directed towards the two dogs that had laid down on each side of the boy on the floor. Steve hadn't seen them come into the room. They both raised an eyebrow at his yell, but when they seemed to understand that he wasn't going to chase them away, they cuddled closer to the boy and each other. The boy was calmly asleep between them. 

"That's... interesting..." 

"Not much as that," Bucky indicated to Steve's shirt. 

Steve looked down, the girl in his arms was searching for his nipple. 

"Don't tell Thor," he smirked. 

"Only if you let me do the same thing later when we get back to our room."

"Pervert," Steve blushed. "Fine"

He walked over to the thermostatic box where they kept the baby milk. 

"There's only one bottle left," Steve took one of them out and tested the temperature of the bottle against his cheek. "JARVIS, better call Jane or Kingsley for a..."

"Pardon me," Fendral lightly stepped into the common room from seemingly nowhere. 

"Damn it, man!" Steve jumped. "Don't sneak up on assassins carrying babies!"

"I heard him," Bucky said without turning around. 

Steve gave the back of his head a glare. 

"I beg your pardon, Captain," Fendral smiled handsomely. "But I couldn't help but to overhear that you are running out of milk for the infants."

"Yes...?" Steve put last bottle to the baby girl's mouth, she sighed contently before starting to suckle. "I was just asking JARVIS..."

Fendral interrupted him again. 

"Lady Jane has approved an Asgardian wet nurse," he continued to smile. "I was just on my way delivering this..." he held up something looking like a mechanic funnel "... _pump_. But if you are in imitate need it's perhaps better to come with me and..." his smiled faltered to embarrassed strain for an instant "...and have it from the... _the source_ itself?"

Steve felt himself blushing, he wasn't good with... _the sources_. Bucky gave a mean snicker. Steve squared his shoulders, he was after all the First Security Officer onboard, and he was responsible for security, even if it entailed babysitting. 

"JARVIS, did Jane approve this?"

"Yes, Captain," but she preferred the use of the breastpump. Thor made her be lenient to that regular nursing could be allowed in emergencies, though in the airlock since she didn't want the nursemaid onboard the ship."

"Buck?" Steve looked to his boyfriend for advice, as if he was any better in giving it. 

"Sounds legit," Bucky nodded. "These two are sleeping but they are bound to be hungry when they wake up. Put a bookmark on the movie, Jarv. Fendral? Can you take her so I can get up?"

He motioned to Pumpkin on his chest.

"Couldn't I carry the boy?" Fendral briskly walked over to the sofa.

"If you feel that you are up to it," Bucky pointed to the floor. 

The two dogs both protectively bared their teeth and growled as Fendral approached. As if following their lead Tony's robot, Butterfingers, by the wall began snapping its claw. Fendral stopped. 

"I'll take the girl," he said quickly and relived Bucky from the trapping weight on his chest. 

Both Steve and Bucky smirked. 

Bucky reached down with his metal arm to the boy on the floor, the dogs just smelled it and looked like they could care less. They both rose to their feet though when Bucky lifted the baby to his shoulder. 

Cow was a bit unsteady. Butterfingers was immediately there with his claw, lifting the dog up around the chest, but still letting the animals put support on his paws to walk. It was Loki me some kind of mechanical animal physiotherapist. Steve was impressed, not only by the machine, but also the dog for showing such trust. 

"Let's go," said Fendral, back to his charming and smiling self. "Let's give these babies their first Asgardian feast. Maybe there is something to drink for you as well."

"We can't really drink," Steve lead the way into the corridor followed by the two other men, the dogs and the robot. "Alcohol has no effect on us, well Bucky just a little..."

"But you can still taste it can't you?" Fendral waited for Steve's hesitant, but still confirming, nod. "I know, that you know, that your ship is named after a goat that Loki named after his favourite tavern, but have you actually tasted the real Heidrun mead? We have some barrels aboard for toasting to the dying star."

That actually sounded a bit interesting, thought Steve. Bucky had slightly raised his right eyebrow, so Steve knew he was quite curious as well. 

 

\---------

 

Loki examined the small bottle of which there was only drops of Idun's Elixir that was left. 

He had carefully been planning out the distribution. What was left was to he between the Black Widow and her child. Loki could give the potion to Romanoff now, but the child was an other matter. 

Should the child grow as a human, with the dangers and limitations that entailed, or should she grow like a halfbreed, influenced by either the Mind Stone... or a Clarity. Who knew what either would do to such a young child. At least the latter way she would have the Allspeak. 

The choice was really up to the child's parents, but in an emergency Loki would need to make a quick decision without their consent. 

Then there was the new dog, and the seemingly ever growing crew. Where the Guardians staying? 

Loki held the small vial up to the light. Was he going to need to require more? Eventually he probably would acquire more...

But how? 

"A penny for your thoughts?" Anthony interrupted his thoughts. 

"I have no need for your worthless copper coins."

"Good, because the ones I have with me is part of a nostalgia set." 

Anthony was standing by the Bridge's large view screen window overlooking the collapsing star and writing down his personal observations into the computer. 

"But you're looking at that thing like it's your greatest worry. And considering what other worries you have, that's pretty severe. I'm just concerned about you, babe."

"It's fine," Loki put the vial away in the face pads of his clothes. "What's the timeline?"

"According to the atomic degradation clock we have about two hours before the collapse. Are you bored?"

Loki shrugged. He could go back to the Freeze Machine, but two hours wouldn't give him enough rest to go back to his magic. His other, more or less unofficial, duties onboard as a moral support, an emotional advisor, and an all around sarcastic, weren't immediately needed...

"Ah!" 

Anthony's sudden cry was full of surprise and pain. 

"Tony?!" Hill called out from the pilot seat. 

Anthony was leaning over the console, supporting himself with his arms and his head hanging down between them. He was breathing hard. 

"My love?" Loki ran towards him, only hesitant for a second before placing his hand on his back. "Anthony, what is wrong?"

"It's okay..." he breathed. "Just a little indigestion, this new alien food isn't agreeing with me."

"Are you sure it is the food?" Loki didn't feel it necessary to remove his hand just yet. "Or is it the alcohol you have made for yourself?"

Anthony shook, though not so much of pain as of laughter. He stepped back from the console and stretched his back, pressing it into a Loki's hand. They shared a loving sardonic look and smile before Loki let Anthony kiss his temple and then move away. 

"You're doing an intervention, sweetie?"

"No," Loki shook his head. "I'm just asking you to have better quality control. If not for your crew and ship, then for me."

"Listen to him, Stark," emphasised Hill. 

"This _is_ an intervention," Anthony laughed. "I've kind of missed them. Gamora? Do you want to say something as as well?"

"None of my business," the green woman adjusted something on her own console to balance their orbit. "But I stand behind Maria if she wants me to beat it out of you."

"Ah, true love is a wonderful thing."

Anthony took a deep calming breath and returned to his notes. Loki sighed and turned to look at the star as well. It was actually kind of pretty. 

"Sir?" JARVIS interrupted. "There is a bit of calamity by the Asgardian ship?"

" _Calamity_?"

"Calamity Jane, sir."

Anthony and Hill glanced at each other. It was a glance of suffering. 

"Jarv, are you going through our Earth history files to make room for the supernova data?"

"Negative, sir. There is trouble afoot."

"At the O.K. Corral?" Anthony was irking at his joke that Loki didn't understand, but he still hurried over to what he once discredited to Loki as 'the Mainframe'. "Oh shit! That's one big power surge defragmentation you have going on there." He pressed the intercom. "Jemma? Any freak radiation from the star?"

_"No, but the images changed their reference points. I was just going to call you."_

"Hold on, I'm going to...."

"Stark!" Hill cried out. "The Asgardians are letting go of us! We are loosing balance!"


	21. Chapter 21

"And then what happened?" asked Anthony. 

"Then she hit me," Rogers voice was a bit strained through his broken lip.

Well, his formerly broken lip. The cut had healed, but there was a scab and the bruising on the lower right side of his face was a whirlwind of purple and yellow. It reminded Loki of the painful pattern that continually was changing over the skin of his own stomach. 

He tried to focus on his task at hand while still listening to Anthony and Rogers. 

Anthony was inside the airlock, dressed in his Iron Man suit, inspecting the damage the Asgardian ship had made when it left without permission. The haul was intact but slightly buckling. 

Thor was sitting as greatly defeated in the middle of the floor. His face was empty of everything except for shock, but the gentle way he was holding his daughter in his arms told Loki that his brother would recover fine without his involvement. 

Anyway, Quill was already over there and awkwardly patting Thor's shoulder, it was enough comfort. Loki wouldn't be able to do better. 

"It will hold up until repair," Anthony sounded tired through the speakers. "We can't dock with anyone, but as long Bruce keeps his temper down we're just fine."

"I'll try to hold it in," Banner said in a sanguine tone. 

"Sounds dirty," snickered Rocket. 

The two of them were checking the wires in Barnes' arm, it had gotten it's very own electric attack that had singed some of its innards. Or rather, Banner was checking wires, Rocket was curiously poking wires. Darcy was standing next to them holding a toolkit with many small tools. She looked determined enough to make Banner keep that promise. 

She had probably been sleeping when the alarms went off. Her hair was a unbrushed mess, and she was only wearing her black undergarments and a big grey sweater with the big letters 'M.I.T.' printed on it. 

The severity of the situation at hand was confirmed by that none present, not even Anthony, was glancing at her bare legs. Though he had to confess that Ronan without his shirt on took president in the room's eye-catching department. 

It could possibly be the reason why Quill's pats on Thor's shoulder were a bit erratic. 

The Kree had been in the gym, he was righty holding on to a barbell as a weapon. Loki guessed he might had been working out some frustration. His face was calm and his were eyes closed, but his body was tense. It was a bit disconcerting. 

Loki ignored him and leaned closer to Rogers to inspect at the bruise on how jaw, Rogers calmly let him by tilting his chin. 

"Are you going to say something about me getting beat up by a woman?"

"No such thing, Captain. Women are not for underestimating, especially this one. I'm just impressed that she didn't break your jaw."

"If there is something I'm good at it's how to take a punch," he smiled even though it noticeably pained him slightly. 

Loki backed away, he had noticed the quick look of shame and amusement Rogers had shared with Barnes. There had been history and love in there as well, and Loki felt that it was too private to enquire over. 

"So..." Anthony let his helmet retract as he exited the airlock and let it close behind him. "Why don't we take it from the start?"

"Aren't we going after them?" asked Rogers. 

"JARVIS is rebooting," Anthony counted in his fingers. "I had to patch the bots up into the mainframe to help with the digital repairs. We are burning _real_ fuel to keep the ship in steady orbit around a star three times hotter than the Sun. We are damaged, a black hole can be created at any time now to throw off our best made calculations, and we have several crew missing. I for one would like to know the details of what fucking happened."

Loki felt a bit intoxicated by emotion, Anthony was very attractive when being a forceful. 

\------------------ 

Nebula was half-sitting, half-laying on the surprisingly comfortable bed. She was staring, but more out of boredom, at the screen with the dying star. She understood the significance of the event, but wasn't really that interested. 

Stars died, so did everything else. 

The room did not look as any prison cell she had seen or been in. It was small, yes, but it could easily be used as a private quarter for a regular crewman. Nebula suspected that it was actually just that. Especially with the soft bedding, the empty bookshelf, and the slightly impressive computer interface.

She had already tried to break the security panels, just for checking, but had given up after the computer had asked her to stop in the most polite tone of voice. It said would be forced to call security to sedate her. It hadn't scared her, it just made her a feel a bit of respect. Also, she didn't really want to escape, not yet. 

This place was too curious to leave right away. This was a human ship, from Earth, Midgard, the so called 'unknown key to the galaxy'. She had often heard Thanos talk about Earth with a tone of desire and contempt. 

She hadn't yet decided how she was going to use the situation to her advantage. There were several ways to go. She had learned some more ways to patience since she left Thanos, and she wasn't afraid to take advantage of them. 

After her former employer had died and left her with the worthless heap of maybe somewhat adorable piece of fluff that was his beloved pet, Nebula had felt a bit aimless. Meeting the humans had peaked her interest. 

When she later found out that the humans were involved with Ronan _and_ Loki _and_ the Guardians, including her traitorous sister, Nebula knew without doubt that she had to go with them. 

The admittedly somewhat cute human male had been her way in. He was obviously a man of integrity, intelligence, and seniority. If she could tie herself to him then her ticket onboard was taken care of. 

His name was Phil, a strange name. It was short for Phillip, an ever stranger name. Son of Coul. He had been very tolerant and strangely resigned at the temple blood ritual that bound them together. 

He hadn't been scared. Intimidated and wary, yes, but not scared. It had surprised her. As well as the fact that she just thought of him as somewhat cute. 

Being locked up was expected though, even if the room wasn't. The boredom was expected as well, but it was getting a bit too boring. She would never admit to it but the false Asgardian prince had lightened her mood a bit with the allowance to view the star. 

She had just resigned to taking a halfhearted sleep when there was a flicker across the screen. Nebula didn't think much of it, but it was enough for her to raise her guard again. 

A few moments later her door opened. 

Nebula expected some kind of either feeding or interrogation, but there was no one there. The corridor outside seemed empty. 

She quickly got to her feet and walked over. Looking outside revealed even less. 

It was sure to be a trap. They were going to see if they could trick her, test her loyalties. If she failed she had two options, escape or be killed. 

If she gained their trust the options were different, join them or betray them. 

What did they want her to do? Should she stay in the room or should she step outside? Staying would either mean that she obeyed them, or that she was setting herself up for a more devious test. Leaving would either bring her punishment or give her a chance to show she wasn't going to cause trouble. 

Another explanation could be that the shop was in trouble. What would then be the wisest move? Stay and go under? Go help? Escape? Wait for rescue? This new kind of patience seemed a great deal like hesitation to her, and she didn't like it at all. 

If this was a test then the humans were a really devious race. They had probably learned that from working so close to Asgardians and their like. 

"Computer!" she resolutely squared her shoulders and asked in a harsh tone. "I demand to know what is going on!"

"Sun's at high noon." came the answer. 

That actually confused her. Was it an Earth-expression for something important? If it was, then she was too proud to ask. 

She fisted her hands tightly and took a step outside the room. No one was to say that Nebula didn't take a challenge head on. Attack was always the best option, not even patience could change that. 

The door closed shut with a bang behind her, it almost made her jump. Almost. 

She moved down the corridor of doors. It was time to find out some things, and use them to her advantage. 

Within moments she had found a shower room that actually used real water. It was also warm and clean, and functional for several people at the time. She tried not to be impressed, but it was hard not to be. It smelled quite nice in there as well, like different kinds of flowers and fruits. 

She could pretend to be a good girl to the humans for a while if that while included time spent in this room. 

Nebula continued her walk through the corridor. She noted all things in her path to her partly cybernetic memory. The ventilation, the number of doors, the strange way everything looked military efficient, but then there was so much unnecessary ornaments and colour. 

Paintings of a red and yellow robot in different heroes positions seemed to be a reoccurring theme. Humans...

When she passed what looked like a two-parted door it opened up and revealed a small circular room. Nebula immediately identified it as a vertical transport. 

A very familiar moving pile of fur suddenly jumped out from the transport and rubbed itself against her leg. It was the cluster, she had heard the humans call it a polebear, but that was the species' name in Kree. Nebula preferred 'cluster' because it was more descriptive. 

"Bubblelibubblebutt," she picked up the beast as it began to purr. "Have you been exploring like a good little idiotic ugly furball?"

She brought the cluster closer, putting her cheek against the crock of the neck of the small warm body. Nebula concentrated to find the warmest part and line it up to her implant. The purring increased when she found the right position. 

The large amounts of hair covered up all the signs that the implant was even there. Bubbles' former owner had used it to spy on his guests, and to temporarily store data. That data was now Nebula's.

Information downloaded from the cluster's chip to her processor. It would take a few hours to make sense of it all, but her little spy had done good. There was a lot of close up images of a very happy golden yellow animal and its black nose. 

Nebula was a half a reflex too late moving her leg to the right before the kick coming from behind her to hit the backside of her knee. Though the movement helped her balance when she turned around to hit her assailant with the back of her elbow and staying on her feet when the woman ducked and moved to punch her hip. 

Nebula was already moving away, but she could feel the impact grace her side before kicking, jumping, and turning, catching herself on the wall and using the momentum to block the two combined punches coming towards her face and neck. The woman made a spin to avoid the defence and turn them back around. 

The woman took a step to a jump to a kick to a fake fall that would have tricked Nebula if she wasn't familiar with something similar and graced to the side and catch the woman's foot just before it would hit her face. 

The foot was wearing a very fluffy, purple and pink, sock. 

Within the next short moment between two heartbeats they both looked at the sock, both their eyes met, the woman, she had red hair, made an amused questioning head movement that Nebula copied in response. 

After the beat the woman made a jump, spinning herself loose, making Nebula move to the side and...

"Stop!" 

Nebula stopped in a stance ready to punch her fist forward, staring at the redhead who was halfway down on one knee, seemingly ready to strike. 

A familiar woman with long brown hair fearlessly ran in between them and picked up Bubbles who was cowering on the floor. Her name was Darcy, Nebula remembered. 

"Okay," said Darcy, stepping away with the cluster. "Continue."

But both Nebula and the new woman had lost their momentum, the both slightly stood down. 

"How did you get out?" asked the woman. 

"The door opened," Nebula shrugged. 

"Oh." She seemed momentarily stumped, but then she shrugged and stood down even more. "Something is wrong. JARVIS acts as if someone has hit him on the head, and we haven't heard anything from Tony or the bridge."

"Comms are down," nodded Darcy. "I can't get in touch with either Jane or Bruce. I was on my way to check it out."

"I noticed that too...." the redhead looked Nebula over. "Well, If it isn't your fault then my next suspects are the Asgardians." 

"I should make the same assumption," Nebula nodded.

"Yeah," agreed Darcy hugging the purring cluster. "Those guys are screwed up."

"Let's go check it out. My name is Natasha," she turned to Nebula. "Welcome aboard, and welcome to your first mission. Not much, but it has potential. Come on, let's go."

Natasha, a strange name Nebula noted, walked past Nebula, continuing down the corridor towards the vertical transport. Darcy followed her with the same determination. Nebula felt slightly surprised, slightly. 

"You're letting me come with you?"

Natasha turned and gave her a half a smile. 

"One of my best friends married you, so I guess I could give you a chance. Anyway, I used to be a enemy agent as well, I was born to be one actually. From experience I would recommend you take every opportunity you get to get a second chance."

"Is that what this is?"

"It's something," Natasha turned away when the doors to the vertical transport opened. "Also, you forced my one of my best friends to marry you. I'm keeping you in my sight until I know you deserve him."

"The saloon doors are open," said the computer. 

"Well, this feels safe," said Darcy as she entered. 

Nebula couldn't agree less. She still followed. 

 

\--------------------

"Jane," Steve stood in her way. "I can't let you do this by yourself."

"Move."

"Jane, you are only one woman..."

"Don't you dare finishing that sentence how I think you're going to end it."

Steve held up his hands, meaningly glancing down at Babygirl in her arms. 

"I was only going to say that you are outnumbered."

"And unarmed," Bucky commented, slightly ironic since his own arm was hanging useless from his shoulder. 

"Buck," Steve gave him a look and then sighed. "I'm going to go check what's keeping the others, Tony should be here by now."

"Fine."

Jane watched him leave and took a calming breath. She looked around, trying to gather her thoughts. 

She wasn't really panicking since she knew that the Asgardians wouldn't hurt the babies, actually the kids would even be treated like royalty. Still, she was very angry and she wanted them back as soon as possible. 

She caught sight of Thor who was standing by the airlock, looking through the window, seemingly trying to understand how his people had betrayed him. What upset Jane the most was that Thor wasn't doing anything about it. 

There was a, very small, part of Jane that understood him. Perhaps Babyboy would be a better Asgardian prince if he grew up with his people, but that was besides the point because this was without consent. 

Also, the kidnapping megalomaniac sexist bastards had mixed up the girls and taken Pumpkin instead of Babygirl. Pumpkin, who was their friend's child, and hadn't been given any inoculation against being outside the ship. Thor could at least be fearing Nat's and Clint's wrath. 

Jane was boiling inside. The girls didn't even look like each other, other than being girls of fair skin and of the same age. 

"Here," she said, carefully handing over Babygirl to Bucky, quickly helping him to hold her correctly with his one working arm. "Don't loose this one."

He had the decency to look ashamed. 

"Thor!" Jane walked over to her boyfriend, whose relationship status was hanging on a thin thread at the moment. "What are you going to do?"

He looked down on her for a moment, thinking, then he squared his shoulders.

"I'm going to go and talk my father."

Jane just stared at him. 

"Unbelievable, she breathed. 

"What?" he frowned. 

"You are unbelievable."

"Thank you?"

Jane stared at him again. 

"What is going on?!" Natasha marched into the room flanked by Darcy and the blue woman, Phil's wife. "Steve said they took my baby!"

"'Mistakenly'," said Steve coming after them. "I said 'mistakenly took your baby'."

"That doesn't make her any less taken!" she screamed. 

"Don't fret, my lady," Thor walked over and put his hand on Natasha's shoulder. "I will travel to Asgard and bring your daughter back."

Even Steve and Bucky glanced worriedly at each other at that. Good to see there was at least some human decency in them. 

"You're not going to rescue them?" Darcy looked as appalled as Jane felt, she was holding a very furry animal in her arms. 

"They are in safe hands," Thor gave her a charming smile. "There is no cause for alarm. When I explain the mistake to Odin, your daughter will be returned to you."

Natasha bared her teeth, but it was Jane who cried out. 

"Not good enough!" she screamed. 

"My love..."

"No," Jane held up her hand. "It could take days before we get our children back, and by the sound of you it sounds like you very well can let Odin keep our son."

"He is a prince!" Thor raised his voice. 

"He is my son!" Jane screamed back. "He was carved out of me, the cut haven't even closed fully yet!" She turned away from him. "Nat, go start up Tanngrisner, we are going after the Asgardians, and we are not negotiating."

"Already on my way," Nat gave Thor a look before leaving

The blue woman followed her without hesitation. Darcy only weighed on her feet for a second before following as well. 

"Jane!" boomed Thor. "You can't do this!"

"Oh yes, I can."

"Please, Jane..." Steve tried to stop her. "At least wait for backup."

Jane slapped him in the face. 

It was just a normal slap, she even had to stretch her arm to reach his cheek. Normally a slap like that from her would feel a small pat for Steve. Now he forcefully flew into the wall. His nose was bleeding. 

Jane felt her other hand clench around cold metal. She was holding Mjölner. 

\------------

"All systems are ninety-eight point three percent back to normal," reported JARVIS. "The Arc Accelerator is online and is keeping us in perfect orbit."

"Finally," Tony breathed out. "Don't do that to me again, dude."

"My safety routine is now adapted to this form of energy. Next time I will be ready to assimilate it."

"Easy there, Borg Queen." Tony rubbed his hands together. "Next problem? Babe, how you doing?"

Loki was leaning against the wall feeling the contours of the bandage under his shirt with his fingers. He almost looked startled when Tony addressed him. He collected himself quite quickly and gave Tony a look signifying just what he thought of stupid questions from stupid human boyfriends. 

"I think we should go with the old Midgard saying 'women and children first'."

"Not the way you use it, sweetie. But you're right, we are missing some ladies and babies..." he paused "...and hammers."


	22. Chapter 22

"So Jane'a got the hammer..." 

"Be quiet Loki!"

"Does this mean that she's you now?"

"Shut up!"

"I always thought that you were in love with yourself enough to only manage a relationship yourself."

Thor screamed. 

Loki smirked. In any other situation this would be one of his happiest moments. As it were, it was a fairly pleasant moment. 

As the Stones, Mjölner was somewhat sentient. Though were the Stones sought to create chaos, Mjölner sought a worthy wielder. Thor had fallen victim of politics, while Jane had stood up for her honour and family. Her intimate relationship with Thor had made the connection. 

That was why Loki never had been able to even wobble the hammer, he could never make an action that didn't plan to benefit himself in some way. 

"Stop teasing your brother," Anthony scolded him, though it would probably sound more sincere if he wasn't grinning widely. 

They had moved the conversation to the bridge, letting the less oxygen-dependent robots watch over the now closed off airlock. 

Fitz, Simmons, and Banner were doing patchwork on Barnes in the laboratory, Rogers was there as well. Wilson and Careet were still cooking, Babygirl was being babysat by Kingsley in themex-bay, and the Guardians were having their own private meeting in the common room. 

Coulson was standing in the back of the room, looking slightly conflicted. The man was probably wondering if he was supposed to care about his wife being gone or not. 

Ronan was hanging back by the elevator, waiting for Loki. 

"Why aren't we going after them?" asked Barton banging his fist on the co-pilot seat console. 

"Because it is what Jane wants!" Anthony turned resolutely to Barton.

Everyone turned to look at him, even Thor. 

"She wants us to study the star," he the explained with forced patience. "I want nothing more than to go straight after her and blow up that bloody ship for stealing our kids, but..." he cracked a smile "...I wouldn't want to get in the way of protective mama Thundergod. She will be more mad at us for missing science, important science, than for us busting in and thinking she and the girls can't handle it. You know how chicks are, man."

Hill cleared her throat. Anthony threw her a mock-kiss. Loki smirked again and got a flirtatious wink in response. 

"We have their position, Clint," Coulson pointed to a monitor. "And Nat is making regular sign-ins. The Arc Accelerator is fully online, if they need our help we can be there within a minute. Right Tony?"

"Right."

Barton seemed to want to protest but he bit his lower lip. It must be hard for him, Loki thought, first being abducted, and then coming home to your daughter being the same. And then our wife goes missing in the company of a a usurper goddess, the most dangerous woman in the galaxy, and a human girl whose best defence is a sassy attitude and a sharp tongue. 

Then again, without his magic, a sassy attitude and a sharp tongue was Loki's best defence as well. He had no doubts Darcy would do very well. 

"Are they at least safe?" Barton turned to Loki. "I mean, neither of them has been given the potion thing yet."

"Despite appearances..." Loki looked down at his pathetic adoptive brother in the corner of the Bridge. "Asgardians are quite clean and aware of the existence of germs. Your child should be fine. 

Barton muttered something unintelligible that probably was to be interpreted as an insult. Loki ignored him and glanced over at Ronan. They exchanged a nod. 

"What I don't understand..." said Tien who had been noting down the event on her Nova-tablet "...is why they brought Darcy Lewis. Nebula and your Natasha are skilled warriors, your Jane is in possession of Mjölner. What is her function?"

"She's our moral-officer," said Anthony in a slightly fatherly proud voice. "If any mission needs high moral, then it's this one."

"Darling," Loki came up as close to Anthony, lowering his voice, letting his shirt touch the bare arm. "I would need to access the Mind Stone. It would be best if I was prepared to take care of Romanoff and her child directly upon their return."

"Didn't you say Pumpkin was too young for that?" Anthony's breath hiked slightly, the man was really touch starved and it made Loki feel bad. 

"That was before she was taken off the ship, I didn't want to worry Barton."

A white lie, but not necessarily completely untrue. He was going to use the stone on Romanoff, just not right away. The child was another matter, that was better not shared with Anthony at this time. 

\-----------------

"Are you sure we can catch up to them?" asked Darcy. "These ships aren't really built for long distance."

Nat gave an amused grunt. 

"They are so sure of themselves that they are not even trying to get away. I don't even think they are looking back to see if they're followed."

Nebula was in the co-pilot seat looking suspiciously content. Darcy was keeping an eye on her, but so far there seemed to be any funny business going on. 

"How're you doing Jane?"

"A bit overwhelmed."

Jane weighed the hammer in her hands, it was almost as big as her head but seemed as light to her as the hammer one uses to put up a painting on the wall. 

"I feel like I'm running a light fever, but at the same time I feel stronger and more confident. 

"It does prove that we're doing the right thing," Darcy gave Jane a pat on the back. "Or at least that it is a worthy cause. That'd show those pricks."

Jane laughed, hugging the hammer to her chest like it was her missing child. 

"I'm just glad that it didn't go all female superhero on me and changed my clothes. I wouldn't be up for wearing a minidress with cleavage and bared belly right now."

"I don't know," Darcy laughed. "With those big milk filled jugs of yours you'd probably be the perfect candidate for the the cover of the superhero fan magazines."

Nebula looked very confused, Darcy took pity on her. 

"On Earth..." she explained "...usually the more powerful a female superhero is the less clothes she seems to be wearing. And the less she's wearing on the cover of the magazines the more they sell." 

"Stupid," huffed Nebula.

"A habit that we were trying to get rid off, trust me," said Natasha. "Figure fitted clothes increase mobility in a fight, less clothes increases target. Though I have noticed that if you open a few front buttons you tend to get better backup. Just a fashion tip, Jane, if you are going to go forward with this endeavour."

"Thanks," Jane smiled gratefully. "But as soon as I have my boy back I'll be happy to return Mjölner to Thor and go back to my astro-charts."

"Nah," Darcy shook her head. "'Astro-chart-woman' won't look good in the newsletter. Oh-oh-oh, I've got it! 'Space Viking Queen'."

The three other women just looked at her. 

"So it needs some work," she shrugged. 

"Stop making me superhero names."

"You know that you don't need to have powers to be a superhero," Darcy shrugged. "Just use your brains, like Tony."

"Yeah, his brains, and a fortune that apparently coincides with a planetary budget."

"Yeah, and you are the future queen of Asgard!" Darcy reminded her. "That ought to give you some funds to work with."

Jane paused to look at her thoughtfully. She seemed hesitant, but also seemed to draw strength from the hammer. 

"That is only if Thor still wants to marry me," she breathed. "I took his weapon that was given to him by birthright. When the Asgardians see that I have it he will be shamed, perhaps even ridiculed..."

"Who the fuck cares?!" Nebula spat. "If they don't respect him and he doesn't respect you, who in Hel cares? I say you keep the damn hammer, take back your kid, and beat those arrogant bastards heads in until they learn to respect you."

They stared at her in silence for a moment. 

"A good plan," nodded Nat. "Though it needs some modifications."

"Like what?" 

"I'm going to get my baby and beat some arrogant bastards' heads as well."

Nebula gave a nod. 

"You are a good fighter," she agreed, though it looked like it painted her to admit it. "Do you use implants or mutations?"

"Are those the only two options?" Nat gave her a look before going back to the controls. "How about a strong physical heritage, raised by criminal fanatics, and hard practice every day since you were first able to make a fist with your tiny baby hand?"

She sounded a bit bitter at the end, Darcy could understand why. 

"All of that was a given," Nebula shrugged one shoulder. "I don't know anyone of our class of fighting that haven been thus raised. I wondered about your body moderations. What have you added?"

"Oh," Nat frowned as she thought it over. "I have had a few teeth replaced, and a microchip in my arm to keep track of my blood sugar."

"I didn't know you were diabetic," said Jane in surprise. 

"I'm not, just hypoglycaemic, Tony gave it to me because he thought I was a bitch when I was hungry. He says it only cured half of my bitchiness though."

"So you have no enhancements!" Nebula's voice was low and confused, almost to herself. 

"Nope," Nat adjusted some of the instruments. 

Jane and Darcy glanced at each other, Nat hadn't gotten Loki's potion yet. She, and her baby, they wouldn't be as biologically protected as them. Nat cleared her throat as if she knew what they were thinking. She wasn't going to let some alien germs stop her from getting back her baby. 

"We are closing in on the Asgardian ship. Shall I hail them?"

"Do they know we are here?" Jane walked over to the window screen, carrying Mjölner cuddled in her arms. 

"Undoubtedly." 

"They don't deserve a hail. Ram them."

"Yes, ma'am," Nat grinned wickedly. 

Tanngrisner was like a pea next to an orange, but it was a hard pea. Hard enough to do damage and make a small hole without being damaged itself. Asgard might be big and fancy, but so were their spaceships. It couldn't hold its own against Earth's best workmanship. 

"There's an force field patching over the hole," Jane looked over the readings, "It seems too keep the atmosphere inside. Is the computer taking readings?"

The force field reminded Darcy of the first cell aboard the marauders' ship where she, Cleared t and Leo had been held captive. She remembered it to be quite impenetrable, she hoped this wasn't the same. 

"They are hailing us..." Nat listened to the message on her headphones "...they're not happy."

"Well, we're not either!" Jane walked over and flicked the switch to the comms. "Give us our children back you sons of bitches!"

 _"Lady Jane?_ came Fendral's voice through the speakers. _"Is that you? Did you just insult our mothers?"_

"Open the docks, asshole! We are not going to ask twice."

_"Lady Jane, that is really not very ladylike..."_

_"Ram them again."_

_"I like this plan," smiled Nebula._

_Darcy braced when Nat pushed forward again. Tanngrisner planted itself halfway in, halfway out of the the haul. It wasn't sure if they were going to get loose again, but Jane was probably going to use the hammer in a pinch._

_"The force field is automatically fitting around us," said Nebula, checking the instruments. "Let's board them before they realise it."_

_She really acted like one of the gang. Darcy was still ambiguous about her, but Nebula had been seemingly willing to help when they first met. Also, for better or worse, even if by force, she was Phil's wife, and if he was giving her a chance, who was Darcy to deny it?_

_"Me too?" asked she as she followed the three much better suited women to the door._

_"You're pretty much screwed alone," smirked Jane knowingly as only a best friend forever can do. "You're best to carry the kids so we can circle you and concentrate on defence if anyone makes throuble. Take two of the sample collection bags and use them as slings."_

_Darcy hurried over to the wall-cupboard beside the door to do what she said._

_"It seems we could have used you in our tactical meetings back on Earth," said Natasha._

_"You never asked," Jane gripped Mjölner with both hands by the shaft. "Let's go get our babies. Open it!"_

_\---------_

_"Thank you, Anthony."_

_Tony still felt a minor trepidation over handing over the staff and the Mind Stone to Loki. He knew in his heart that he could trust him, but a lifetime of listening to his brain was hard to ignore. He had also noticed Ronan following them for a while, but the blue man had turned away when he saw that he was discovered._

_Loki must have seen the minuscule hesitation in Tony because he gave Tony a pitying smile._

_"It's not you," Tony laughed nervously. "It's me."_

_"When is it not?"_

_Tony loved this sassy side of Loki, it had been a while since he had seen it full on. So much had happened the last few days and they hadn't been able to really have a moment to themselves. Changing bandages might be intimate, but it wasn't as romantic as you might think._

_"I could ask you the same, sweetheart."_

_"That's why we make such a good team, my love."_

_They watched each other for a moment, each trying to read the other's mind. Loki was probably doing a better job since he was holding the staff, but Tony hoped that his boyfriend had learned not to be as intrusive._

_"You know..." Tony leaned a bit forward and was glad to see that Loki didn't shy away. "With all that's been going on, it's been a while since we were naked together."_

_"Anthony..." Loki looked hesitant._

_"I'm not suggesting anything," Tony held up his palms. "I love that you trust me take care of you..."_

_"...but could I _take care_ of you as well?"_

_"It sounds a dirty when you say it like that."_

_"You like that, don't you?"_

_"You know I do, babe."_

_They were almost touching foreheads, Loki's breath was slightly chilly and reminded Tony of a time when he was sixteen and his father had been on, a so called, 'detox-retreat'. Most likely an other word for 'building weapons for SHEILD by day and getting shit-faced by night'. His mother had been with her flavour-of-the-month-charity, and -lover, somewhere in South America._

_Tony had spent two whole months in the Mount Everest first base camp. He had, out of his own pocket, been sponsoring a team of Australian climbers that were testing out a Stark-prototype rebreather. It had been one of the most serine periods of his life._

_He had been happy there, and he'd always sworn to come back and climb the mountain for himself._

_He never had._

_He had flown over it in his suit once. It wasn't the same._

_"Where did you go just now, Anthony?"_

_"Just to the past," Tony smiled up at him. "You reminded me of something."_

_"Oh, that explains why you looked so sad," he started to turn away._

_"No, Loki, no," Tony took hold of his arm but immediately let go when he felt the muscles tense up. "It was a _happy_ sad memory..." He hesitated. "One of missed opportunities."_

_"Of what you could have had if I wasn't the way I am?" Loki clenched the hilt of the staff. "Of who you could have been with if I hadn't tricked you to fall in love with me?"_

_"It was actually the other way around, babe. I tricked you."_

_"Before you knew _what_ I was. Before you knew that I never could give you more than a pornograph would give you. Before you knew I was a monster..."_

_"Now you be quiet!" Tony pointed accusingly at the taller man's face. "You are not a monster! And the thing I was regretting was not climbing some stupid fucking mountain back on Earth! I love you! And if pornography is the only thing I'll get from you, then I'm a very lucky man, because you are gorgeous, know exactly what I like to look at, and I don't have to share you with anyone else."_

_Tony took a few deep breaths to calm down. Loki actually had tears in his eyes, and when he quickly dried them away they were small pieces of ice falling to the floor._

_"I'm sorry," he said. "My love."_

_"Don't be, sweet cheeks," Tony pulled Loki's shirtsleeve affectionately. "Now go and do your preparations. I have an exploding star to record, a huge space viking to comfort, and a small team of wild women to monitor. Let's meet back in our room when all is over and discuss things over a glass of fermented fruit juice."_

_Loki blinked._

_"You ferment fruit juice?"_

_"Oh, look at the time!" Tony pretend to look at his bare wrist. "Is that the time? Must dash, darling. I'll stay in touch!"_

_He dared to place a quick kiss on Loki's chin before jogging off. The lack of shouts and muffled swearing behind him made him confident enough to turn around._

_Loki didn't notice, he was staring busy at the Mind Stone._

_Not a comforting sight._


	23. Chapter 23

"You got to let it go, dude," Tony patted Thor on the shoulder. "So your girl got the better of you and took your stuff. Believe me, we've all been there. It only shows you made the right choice being with her. Who wants a meek partner?"

"Is that your way of comforting?" asked Clint, putting a huge plate filled with steaming stew in front of Thor on the table. "Sure, I agree with you, I wouldn't want it any other way, but you could be a bit more sensitive."

They were in the kitchen trying to cheer the hammer-less thoundergod up with food. It wasn't working quite well, and if it wouldn't be such a waste on the stout Asgardian, Tony would actually consider bringing out his fermentation experiments. 

"How can you be so calm?" Careet asked Clint. 

"Believe you me," Clint chowed down on his own food and glared across the table at Thor. "I could definitely put an arrow trough _someone's_ eye right now, but I trust Nat to handle it. And if she doesn't, _they_ will wish that she had."

"Ominous and cryptic," Tony nodded in approval. 

"Also," Clint took a breath. "It's kind of like old times. Back on Earth we were sent on separate missions all the time. If it wasn't that Pumpkin was on stake... Well, this would be an old shoe."

Thor sighed deeply. Tony rolled his eyes. 

"Okay, what are you most upset about? Jane doing your job, your own people betraying you, or your father not trusting you? Personally I would choose the second one, because the first one is too stupid and the third one is too obvious."

Thor made another heavy sigh. 

"I know you think me a fool, Tony Stark. But Mjölner was my birthright... without it, what am I?"

"Oh, I don't know," Tony said sarcastically. "A friend, a fighter, a father, some other things starting with 'f'? 

"'Fuckup'?" suggested Clint under his breath. 

Sam made a slightly amused chuckle from where he was taking steaming hot bread from out the oven. 

"I've always thought that you were kind of mean, Tony, but you are actually evil, aren't you?"

Tony placed a hand over his chest in pure mockery.p

"Curses! My secret is out! Thank god, I don't have to hide in the shadows anymore. I can finally do my nefarious plotting openly. JARVIS, tell Loki to wear that sexy sidekick costume and ask him to come up with a super villain name. Something cool, not like the stupid ones back on Earth. 'Doctor Doom'? Who came up with that shit?"

"Probably himself," Clint spoke with food in his mouth and swallowed. "Since he is a doctor and his last name is Doom."

"I think I stick to Iron Man... or maybe The Iron Sledge. Is that taken?"

"For how long are you going to stretch this bit?" asked Sam. 

"For as long as it's possible, as with everything I do."

"God save us all."

"He seems to be a bit out of it at the moment," Tony nudged Thor with his elbow. "Can you wait?"

"Can you?"

"Nah, evil never waits. My boyfriend taught me that. Not that he is evil, but he has some work experience."

"You humans are strange creatures," said Careet. "You speak so casual about serious things."

Tony tended to agree. 

"It's the only way some of us can survive," hummed Clint. "This is really good by the way, you got my vote if you want to stay onboard."

"Sir," JARVIS said from above them. "Dr Banner asks if you could come and make a final check on Sargent Barnes' arm. Also, Loki has responded to your request by telling you to go screw yourself, and that your super villain name is 'The Impossible Idiot'."

"You really told him? I thought you knew about sarcasm," Tony got up from the table. "Though I love it when he and give each other cute nicknames. Anyway..." he patted Clint in the back "...Hawkeye here can be my evil sidekick, he'll look great in the sexy costume."

"Aw, chucks, Mr Stark, I do declare," Clint made a bad fake southern accent.

"Loki is better as a Homme Fatal, anyway, luring good-doers to the evil layer with false promises of intimacy..."

He stopped talking. Suddenly he had come too close to reality. He ignored the worried looks Clint and Sam were giving him. 

He really should practice on his mouth filter. 

"Tell Bruce I'm on my way," he sighed. 

\----------------

Loki and Ronan had withdrawn to Ronan's quarters. Loki had used a bit of his magic to obscure the computer's sensory access to the room. The sentient machine one of Anthony's best spies and Loki had no desire to let his boyfriend in on any of this. 

"All right," Loki studied the electromagnetic scan that he'd stolen from the Med-bay archive. "These are the areas we want to turn off."

He showed the image to Ronan, pointing out the black areas of the Kree's brain that once had been a void. Ronan nodded seriously. Loki continued. 

"You are aware that I can not remove the areas? They will still be there, simply forgotten. Forever, if not reversed with the Stone, and that is only as long as the physical pathways haven't deteriorated for lack of use. After that nothing can bring it back, except for perhaps the Time Stone. Though that has been lost for centuries. Do you understand?"

"Of course I do," grunted Ronan. "I'm asking you to do it."

"Just covering myself," Loki shrugged. "Most humans around here are sticklers for consent, and I would be in trouble with them if I didn't get a recording of you saying that you understand."

Ronan looked down on his hands and then up at Loki again. 

"Why do you care?" 

"Because I am at the mercy of them. There are only three places that I ever can call home, and I'm not welcome at either of them. Asgard has turned its back on me, Jotenheim sees me as a long lost stranger, and Midgard thinks of me as a liar and villain."

Ronan was staring at the black and blue scan. Loki felt a painful tug in his stomach that didn't feel like it had anything to do with the injuries there that refused to heal. 

"Kree space is vast," he said slowly. "It wouldn't be difficult for you to get away."

"We talked about this before, Loki. You understand that my home has always been Hala. I can't live anywhere else knowing that I am what I am, where I belong. Only if I forget my origin, can I be happy to live outside the centre of Kree power..." he paused. "I don't have your luxury of being forgiven by someone who can love and support me."

The words weren't meant to hurt, but they did. Loki knew about shortcomings and fears. 

"If you ask Quill..." 

"Quill couldn't be with me even _if_ he wanted to," Ronan raised his voice in irritation. "Are you still covering yourself, or are you trying to talk me out of it?"

"Honestly?" Loki sighed and shook his head. "I don't know. Maybe I'm trying to convince myself..."

"In what way?"

Loki hesitated. He wasn't even sure what he was considering, let alone putting it to words for someone else to hear. He could see that Ronan waited patiently. 

How could he tell someone that he was considering using the Mind Stone on himself? He had done it before, when he tricked himself into thinking that his injuries were healing. But this was different. 

Convincing his mind that his body wanted to heal wasn't going against his nature. Even obeying Thanos using the Stone to give him orders to invade Midgard wasn't a too far a stretch of Loki's character. 

But this... This would be mind-altering for real. 

"Nothing," he breathed and thoughtfully looked over the scan again to get focused. "Let's get on with it... Find you most comfortable position on the floor opposite me. We'll start with a guided meditation to find the right areas..."

\--------- 

 

"It actually looked worse than what it was. Most of the blood wasn't even ours."

They were in the large laboratory, Leo and Simmons had just left to get some food. Tony and Bruce were putting the last adjustments to Bucky's arm while Steve and Coulson were leaning back against the wall, waiting for them to finish. 

"Well, isn't that romantic?" hummed Tony as he checked Bucky's fine motor finger skills. "And then what happened?"

"The high priest made us swear to kill the other one rather than ever leaving, or cheat, them."

Coulson was telling the story of his wedding. It was somewhat sweet, if you disregarded the symbolic blood rituals, the chantings to a beautified replica of a viciously executed founder, and the life-threatening language of the vows. 

Apparently, Nebula was pretty devout to the order. 

"Sweet," Bruce made a few notes about something in a notebook, the guy was distributingly analog sometimes. "I'll consider it if Darcy pops the question."

"Fuck, Bruce!" Tony exclaimed. "I didn't see you as the type."

"I'm not," Bruce sighed, not looking up from his notes. "But I wouldn't deny Darcy it, if she was, but she isn't."

Tony could see in his friend's eyes that he was worried for Darcy. It was brav of her to go with Jane, but the fact was that she was only human with no special skills. They my was a bit worried himself. 

Bucky gave a huff of laughter. 

"I don't know if that makes you a nice guy, or just totally whipped."

"There's nothing wrong with being whipped sometimes," Bruce gave him a quick smile. "Especially when your own temper gets you into trouble. And..." he adjusted his glasses "...I am a nice guy."

Tony slid the lid on the back of Bucky's hand closed and gave it an encouraging pat. 

"There you go. Go, do petit point embroidery, neuroscience, and other fine motor skills! Go pleasure your boyfriend."

Bucky gave him a devious look. 

"You think you are joking, but you don't know half of it."

"Is that so?" Tony raised an eyebrow. "Perhaps you want a vibrating function to go with that as well, sir?"

"I'll consider it," Bucky smiled like the Cheshire Cat. 

They both waited for a heartbeat, two... Nothing happened. Even Bruce and Coulson shifted uncomfortably. 

Steve didn't respond. 

It was quite worrying, especially with the quite obvious fingering-implication. Tony had expected at leat an embarrassed throat-clearing, or a disapproving look. But nothing. 

"Steve?" Bucky looked to his boyfriend. "That's kind of your cue. You're supposed to say something about Tony minding his own business, or joke about my skills."

"I'm sorry," Steve combed his hair through with his fingers and breathed deeply. "I can't stop thinking that everything is my fault. I was responsible for the children... I let them be taken..."

"It wasn't your fault," Coulson stated his arm. 

"I was there as well," reminded Bucky. "If there are any to blame, then it's both of us."

"Be quiet, the both of you," Tony looked between them. "The only one that we should blame is Odin, who is being a creepy control freak."

"And Thor for being weak," said Bruce as he stated to pack away the tools they had used for Bucky's arm. 

It was harsh, especially coming from Bruce, but true enough that no one objected. Steve shifted. 

"I hope they can forgive us."

"Steve," Bucky sighed and walked over to him, bending down to place their foreheads together. "Yes, we can sort of be blamed of what happened, but we can't be blamed for the circumstances." He gently kissed Steve's eyebrow. "The kids are going to be fine, their mothers are very capable women."

"What if they won't forgive us..."

"Shape up!" Bucky hardened his grip on Steve's shoulders and shook him. "They will bust our balls with some bad conscience in blackmail purposes, and a few wisecracks, especially from Clint, but they will not never forgive us."

Tony knew he was right. He himself already had some bad jokes piling up in his mind. He would check them over with Loki first to see if his material was approved with the Loki-patented 'stupid-human-eyeroll'.

"Hey?" 

They looked to the door where Peter Quill was standing with a charming smile on his lips. 

"Sorry for bothering you guys," he nodded his little fanboy nod to Steve. "But we got word from Nova. They got Drax in detention, apparently he made some very complicated trouble in the very simple errand he was on."

Do you need to leave right away?" Tony asked. 

He was looking over the monitors that all were concentrating on the gravitational gas giant outside the ship, desperately burning its last molecules before death. 

"I mean, the star's gonna pop any moment now."

"Like an overgrown pimple," Bruce sighed and learned back against the wall.

He lethargically tapped one of the monitors and accompanied the sound of his nail to the glass with a _'pop'_ -sound. 

"Dude," Tony gave him a look. "You okay?"

"Sorry, I'm just bit on the edge."

Everyone in the room stopped to look at him. 

"Not in that way," he gave a weak smile. "Just worried about Darcy, that's all."

"Fine, but keep an eye on it."

Peter gave Bruce a weary look before turning back to Tony. 

"We'll wait for the star because Rocket wants to see _'the biggest damn boom-boom ever'_. I'm not so much into all this science stuff, but it's fun when shit's explode."

"A man after my own heart, though I like the science stuff as well."

"Also, Gamora wants to see if Nebula comes back, or if we have to go after her."

"What do you mean?" Coulson looked away from pretending not to looking at Bruce. 

"We have come to an agreement together with Nova Tien," Peter shifted to find a decisive stance. "We agree that Nebula has the right to seek asylum here, and by galactic law, even more so as your spouse and that the ship is so far neutral in the galactic balance..."

"Balance between what?" Steve interrupted by raising a finger. 

"Simply put?" Peter shrugged his right shoulder with a bit of a frown that showed he wasn't comfortable with the answer but stood by it anyway. "Between good and evil."

"And we're neutral in this?" Steve turned to Tony in surprise. "It should be pretty obvious were we stand."

"Says the guy who attacked the government of the country he is nicknamed after, assisted in several killings, and then shacked up with the assassin that killed my parents."

"He killed your parents?" Peter stared at Bucky. "This really is a ship of second chances."

"He was brainwashed," Tony shrugged. "I've been there."

"No you haven't," said Steve in a slightly offended tone. 

"You did meet my father, didn't you, Cap? Remember him? About my size and colouring, ugly moustache, total asshole? Taught me to drink? Chase sexual gratification before love? Be totally reckless with my own life?"

"Fine, fine! You are brainwashed. But it still doesn't explain why we are neutral. All those things I did was against the law, but I'm not _evil_."

"Whoa!" Peter held up his hands. "I never said you were, Captain America, sir. You're kinda like my biggest hero. I would never call you, or your friends, evil. That's up to Nova, actually to Tien, their emissary. And she has put you down as neutral."

"And we should be happy about that," said Tony, putting a hand on Steve's firm pectoral to hold back any more protests. "If I understand it correctly, if we were branded 'good' then would be like the Guardians here, being a first response to misdeeds and the like. There would be no time for research. Also, we would be forced to hand over any known criminals we have onboard. Probably even the dead and the suspected ones."

It wasn't necessary to say that he referred to Ronan and Loki. 

Steve gave a conceded nod, he understood. Bucky put his good arm around Steve's waist as moral support, Steve thanked him by doing the same. 

"And if you were evil..." Peter gave them all a half a cocky smirk "...Me and by friends would have to fight you. Trust me, you do not want Rocket on your ass, literally, the only thing separating his teeth from his claws are that his teeth can give you an infection, while his claws presses down on the trigger of a bomb."

"Can I keep him?" asked Tony. "I'll feed him and everything. What does he eat?"

"Basically everything, and when he thinks that no one sees him, except for Groot, he sneaks things out of the trash."

Tony was going to ask something about how Rocket and Groot met, but was interrupted by JARVIS calling out. 

"Sir, the star has reached critical mass. I'd advise everyone to take their observation points. It's breaking down."

"Wow!" gasped Bruce. "The Alfa-radiation is off the board!"

\--------------

"Did it work?" asked the very handsome blue man. 

"What did?" 

"I don't know," the blue man looked at his hands. "I'm blue."

"Yes," he looked around. "This is a small living quarter."

"Yes," agreed the blue man. "Is it yours?"

"No, too ugly. Yours?"

"I don't know. I don't think I've been here before."

"What's your name?" 

"I... I'm... I don't know."

"That's strange, because I don't know mine either."

"You are not blue."

"No..." he looked at his own hands. "Pale yellowish pink perhaps."

"Then that's our first clue," the blue man got to his feet and held out his hand. "We are not the same species."

He took it after a slight moment of hesitation and let himself get pulled to his feet. The blue man held up their hands between them. 

"We seem to be friends though," the blue man smiled handsomely. 

"Good," he smiled back. "I would hate to be alone in this."

\---------


	24. Chapter 24

They were examining the strange and nasty looking wound on his stomach when there suddenly was a knock at the door. 

The two men looked at each other in surprise. 

"Let's just play along," he said, pulling down his shirt. "If they know we have lost our memory they might try to trick us, and then we will never know the truth."

"I agree," the blue man nodded. "Be prepared that they could be lying to us from the start. We don't know how we got here the first place."

The next moment the door slid to the side and revealed a slightly shorter man, not blue. He was very attractive. He looks straight at him. 

"Babe! There you are! You're missing the implosion! Why did you turn off the passive security? You know JARVIS can't see you if you do. Are you two making evil plans in here?"

"No...?"

"That fills me with confidence," he laughed. "Are you finished with this? I would feel much better if I can lock this up again."

The attractive man bent down to pick up a golden staff with a blue shining stone on the hilt off the floor. It the stone was beautiful, almost esoteric. It seemed familiar in a 'seen-once-in-a-dream'-way. Though what was even more interesting was the circular faint blue light that could be seen through the man's shirt. 

"Yes...?"

"You are kind of worrying me here. Are you okay?"

"I'm perfectly fine... babe."

It seemed to be an affectionate term rather than a derogatory one. He wondered if this man and he were having a relationship, or was this a ruse to seduce him? The man frowned.

"Ronan?" He looked to the blue man. "You okay?"

That was one name down.

"Y-yes, yes I am."

"Well, come on then. The star is imploding, it won't wait for us. We're of course doing recordings in every spectra and wavelength known to us, but there's nothing like the real thing..." The man gestured them to follow. "I really hope Jane is watching this. This is going to be awesome!"

\-------------- 

Jane was holding a man about two and a half times her size up against the wall. She couldn't help to feel a bit mighty, and she could understand why Thor liked it so much. Though she guessed that Thor didn't have doubts of conscience when he did it. 

The man, a golden-armoured and trimmed-bearded fellow, seemed very confused over the situation and apparently didn't resist out of pure amazement. His golden lance had fallen from his loose grip and rolled away. 

Behind her, Nat and Nebula had together wrestled down another guard to the floor. He seemed as stumped as his colleague. None of them seemed used to women of their size, let alone some who could beat them. 

"Where's my child?!" Jane pressed Mjölner against the neck of the man before her, it crackled with static electricity making the man's beard stand out on end. 

"Lady Jane!" a familiar voice called out from behind her. "Please, calm down."

It was the wrong thing to say. Jane turned around and flung a lightning bolt straight into Fendral, making him fly backwards into the wall, the tips of his silly blond moustache slightly singeing. The crack of thunder echoed between the gold plated steel walls. 

This ship was really braggingly gaudy. 

Jane threw the guard aside. Fendral coughed. 

"Is that...?"

"You better believe it, buster," she walked towards him, holding the hammer out in front of her to show him how easily she could carry it. "Now you stole something that belongs to me and my friend over there, and you don't want to make either of us more angrier than we already are."

"Also..." Nat walked over the guard on the floor, stepping on his gut "...I would like to talk to someone about a mistaken identity."

"Where are they?" Jane pressed Mjölner against Fendral's throat, relaxing her wrist just a fraction to let him feel the weight of the hammer and the static electricity it generated. 

"I will show you, I will show you!"

Jane grabbed his collar and pulled him to his feet. She had to hold her arm almost straight up to do so, but that made it even more impressive. It actually stopped the three guards that had been running towards them in their tracks and waiver uncertainly. 

A opportunity Nebula and Natasha took immediate advantage of as they double-teamed the three giant men into further realisation that this was not a good idea. 

"Tell everyone to stand down," Jane dropped her hold of Fendral. "Or I will use Mjölner to fry the systems. There's a star collapsing not far from here, and you do not want to be without them. Believe me, I'm a scientist!" 

"You wouldn't! Then you'd be doomed too."

"Perhaps, but we have friends that actually would go after us if we were lost, even into a black hole. Can you say the same?"

"And on't forget..." said Darcy stepping forward from behind a corner were she had been standing for safety "...that since they took the _wrong_ girl..."

All the Asgardians present paled somewhat. 

"...the real infant princess is still on our ship. If we are lost, I'm sure Loki would be more than willing to support Thor in raising her to a most wonderful and capable queen."

Fendral just stared at her for a moment, but the guards didn't even have to consider the threat that long. They dropped their weapons to the floor. 

"Stand down!" Fendral called to the guards a bit too late. "We are surrendering!" He looked down to Jane and squared his shoulders to regain some false dignity. "Though only because she is the betrothed of Thor, not for any foul attempts to threaten us."

"Blow it out your ass," Jane grunted up at him. "Now, I have waited long enough. Give. Us. Our. Babies. Back."

\----------------- 

His name was Loki. He had a handsome, very smart, boyfriend, with a slightly irritating sense of humour, named Tony. The man seemed to love and care for Loki very much, but he was also distant and didn't seem to want to touch him. 

Loki had a brother, a big blond guy that looked a bit pathetic and sad sitting on the floor, leaning against the wall. They were obviously not brothers of blood, anyone could see that, but it was nice to know he wasn't without family. 

Apparently Loki was as also an uncle, his so called brother as he was holding the child in his arms and watching her sleep. A man, whose face and hands were completely covered in bandages, was hovering close to them. He seemed to be the ship's healer. 

They were all gathered in the so called Conservatory where the biggest window, which was the ceiling, to space was placed. It was a bit crowded. Loki hadn't expected so many other people. Including himself, Ronan, and Tony, there were nine men, five women, four animals, and the baby, and a living tree. 

As far as he knew, there were two more men on the Bridge, also there were four women and two babies that were off the ship. It was a lot of people to keep track of and it seemed a bit of a daunting task to keep their memory loss to themselves. 

"Look at these radiation spikes," said a somewhat curly haired man with spectacles as he held up a electronic portable screen to Tony. "They even top the Stones, at least those we've measured so far."

"Not surprising," said the green skinned woman who was standing close by. "The Stones were created at the birth of the universe, this..." she indicated upwards "...is as close as we can get to that."

"You know a lot about this," said Tony. 

"Not personality, but Thanos told the story a few times... and... and I felt the force of the Power Stone."

Loki had no idea what stones they were talking about, but he was sure he didn't like this Thanos person. The name make him shiver without reason. He noticed Ronan shifting as well as the sound of the name. It was probably another clue to their identity, but Loki wasn't sure he wanted to know this part. 

He took Tony's hand to settle himself. 

Tony went very still. 

"Babe?"

"Yes?" Loki smiled uncertainly down at him. "Anything wrong?"

"I'm just wondering if I should look a gift horse in the mouth or not."

"I have no idea what that means, and you sound stupid just saying it because you obviously don't know anything about horses, even less about their teeth."

"There you are, babe," Tony laughed and very gently squeezed Loki's hand. "I thought you had done stupid something to yourself."

"Is that something that you would expect me to do?"

It was meant as a genuine question, but a blond man looked in a purple short-sleeve shirt laughed out loud behind them. 

"Danger, Tony Stark, danger! Run for your life!"

"Shut up, Clint," Tony have the man a glare before turning back to Loki. "I would never _expect_ you to do something stupid, but you must confess that you have done some stupid things."

"Oh?" Loki looked curiously at him. "Name something."

Tony blinked, a hit of worry showing in his face. The man called Clint laughed again. Loki waited for an answer, and, judging from the silence around them, the others were too.

"Tell me something stupid that I have done," he worriedly tightened his hold on Tony's hand. "I really want to know."

"Err..."

Loki got the impression that he in his forgotten life had been someone with a short temper and perhaps even violent reactions. He was feeling some of it now as Tony tried too hard to look unaffected. 

"Shaking up with me was pretty stupid," Tony smirked. "But I forgive you, I'm pretty amazing."

Loki rolled his eyes at the obvious avoidance. He wasn't happy and he let go of Tony's hand to show it. Tony seemed disappointed, but not distressed. 

Some of the others were preparing to look up at the ceiling, spreading blankets and pillows on the floor. He was curious over the diversity of the crew. Blue, green, pink, brown, fur, wood... He just wished he knew who all of them were, and if he could trust them. 

"Anything new, Hawkeye?" asked the man who Loki overhead was named Coulson. 

"The Whisper is way out of range," the man in purple was looking down at a small device. "And they are not in touch with JARVIS. Tanngrisner shows no sign of distress, so that's encouraging." He sighed. "I was looking forward to watching the explosion with Nat and Pumpkin."

"It's not too late yet," Coulson patted Hawkeye's shoulder. "They still can make it back in time."

'Hawkeye' was a strange name and Loki guessed it was a nickname. 

He looked over to Ronan, the blue man had been standing alone gazing upwards at the star for a while but was now being approached by a man of fair skin and a red jacket. Ronan looked both surprised and confused over what ever the man was telling him, even more so as the man took his hand, held it for a moment, and walked away. 

Loki walked over, leaving Tony by to stew for a bit. The man obviously cared for Loki, but he didn't seem to want to be honest. It wasn't a good strategy if this was a trick. 

"What did he say?"

Ronan frowned. 

"He said that he had to go away on a mission for a while, but asked me to wait for him. He said he was interested in me, but had some things to work through first."

"Do you know who he is?"

"No..." he paused. "He is interesting though. Fascinating. Even without my memory, I get the impression that he is someone I would find worth waiting for."

Loki nodded, he had gotten the same impression of Tony.

\--------

"He did what?!?!" screamed Jane. 

The electricity was flowing off her and spreading small static lightings all over the room. Darcy felt her hair stand on end. 

"I do not now!' Fendral shook as the blond hair on his face began to singe. "Please, my lady, I do not know! I swear!"

They had come to the room where the children was held, but the children wasn't there. The woman who was supposed to be their wet nurse wasn't there either. 

"Let me at him," growled Nat. "I'll beat it out of him with my bare fists."

"No," Nebula adjusted her neck in a way a normal neck wouldn't adjust. "I'll do it, my fists are harder."

If Darcy hadn't been so concerned at the moment she would have asked herself why Nebula seemed so invested. But at the moment her attention was on Jane who seemed close to a mental breakdown. 

With all the power that the hammer gave her, and her inexperience with it, she. Oils just as well blow up the entire ship. Darcy might not have super-strength, know Kung Fu, or have have if her body replaced with metal, but she was the morality officer and this was a job for her. 

"Jane," she stepped forward carefully so not to be electrocuted. "Jane, relax and think. Take a breath. We are going to find them. We just have to think logically. You are a scientist, use your brain."

She held out her hand and laid it slowly on Jane's back. Some static happened, but nothing she couldn't handle. Darcy could feel Jane's heightened breath and heartbeat. 

"Think, feel, look..."

"Wait..." Jane paused between two breaths. "I feel something..."

"What?"

"That bastard!" 

She threw the hammer on the floor in anger, making the floor crack and the whole ship shake as a classic episode of Star Trek with a particularly wobbly camera stand filming William Shatner. A simile that Darcy was going to remember when reporting on this adventure in the newsletter. 

"He used the Tesseract!" Jane breathed. "I can feel it."

"That's impossible," Fendral tried to collect themselves. "He didn't want to use it. That's why we came by ship..."

"Shut the fuck up!" Nat punched him in the face.

She seemed momentarily confused that she didn't break his nose, he was an Asgardian after all, but she did draw blood, a small part of his blond, fizzy, moustache was turning red. Nat recovered quickly though.

"Jane, hit him."

"No, no!" Fendral cringed and wrapped his hands and arms around his head. "Please, don't hit me. No! I'm sorry!"

"Oh, you are going to be sorry all right," Jane took the hammer in one hand and Fendral's collar in the other. "You are going to be sorry you didn't ask me to hit you when I turn you over to Thor. Because he's going to have his unrestricted way with you while I figure out the best way to turn your body into a probe that I can send into the black hole."

Fendral paled. The combination of words 'black hole' might be an unknown Earth-term, but the imagery of the words couldn't be lost on someone with even a tiny bit of intelligence. 

"Come on, girls," Jane dragged the squirming man behind her as she headed in the direction back to Tanngrisner. "We have navigation to Asgard to plot, and some golden asses to kick!"

Nebula gave Darcy a big genuine smile, it was quite scary. 

"I knew I made the right choice coming with you."

\--------- 

Tony knew Loki had done something. He couldn't put his finger on what, and that was irritating since he was supposed to be a genius. 

He was on his back on one of his softest bed sheet looking up at the amazing display on the other side of ceiling. 

At first he had thought that Loki had used the Mind Stone to take away his... _bodily restrictions_ , but then Loki had pulled away from him with a disapproving yet amused smirk, and everything had seemed normal. 

Loki and Ronan definitely had a secret together, Tony was sure of it. It wasn't a secret that Tony would be jealous over, but it might be something that would make him upset or angry. Or it could just be the two of them becoming better friends. 

Friends or collaborators...

And who was Tony, who practically flirted with everything on two legs, and sometimes paws and wheels, to interrogate his introvert boyfriend about his relationship with other people? 

A small shriek interrupted his thoughts. Instinctively he sat up and looked around. It had been Jemma. 

She and Sam were kissing, the kind of enthusiastic and happy kisses you do when you are trying to cover the other person's whole face while still feeling there wasn't enough place to put them. 

Tony had never been kissed like that. He had probably been kissed in every other way there was, but not like that. He suddenly felt very sad. 

"Yes!" giggled Jemma between kisses. "Yes! Yes! Yes!"

Damn it, Tony sighed. He had been gearing up to propose to Loki under the imploding star, Sam had gotten in the before him. Now Tony had to come up with a new idea. 

Bucky handed a chocolate bar over to Steve with a grumpy face. Steve took it with a superior smile. He noticed Tony looking. 

"We bet on the last bar on when Sam was going to pop the question. Bucky thought it would be another week. But _I_ know romance." He waived the chocolate. 

"I know romance," Bucky huffed. "I would have shared that with you if you hadn't done the stupid bet."

"Be still my beating heart," laughed Steve. "Fine, I'll share it, but I still won."

Tony looked away. If it was for the cuteness, the happy couple still kissing, or for the fact that the last chocolate bar onboard wasn't his, he didn't know. Either way, it was some kind of jealousy. He should probably ask Bucky for advice later. 

He looked around the room for Loki. He noticed Rocket, the two dogs, and the strange space-cat all being snuggled up in Groot's lap. Rocket gave him the finger, apparently an universal signal. Tony At first he couldn't see him, but then he noticed him sitting, partly blocked by Thor, letting the baby hold his finger. Thor seemed to smile a little. 

Tony felt his heart melt a bit at the sight. 

Then Bruce screamed.   
_  
"Oh fucking mother of Hell!" _

Before anyone could react at the bad language from the, usually, meek scientist, Hulk was there. Screaming, and pissed off. 

Everything happened really fast, and Tony was hurrying towards the green giant, but he noticed that Loki looked absolutely terrified.


	25. Chapter 25

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello!  
> I'm so sorry for the long break. I have gotten a puppy that has taken up all my free time. As he now has gotten older I again have time to write. 
> 
> Let's return to the story...

It was one of the most frightening things Loki had ever seen, at least he thought so, it wasn't that he had any reference to go by. 

One moment the nice looking and curly haired man called Bruce had been sitting cross legged on the floor with three different portable screens and several notepapers spread around him, the next moment he had literally blown up into an enormous green monster. A very angry monster at that. 

Almost everyone in the room were on their feet, especially the ones that Loki earlier had tagged as warriors. The scientists seemed to be more held back, though still very concerned. 

Tony, who Loki had thought was going to hang back was actually one of the first to run towards the monster, totally unarmed. It made Loki's heart beat faster, though if it was of concern or admiration was hard to say, maybe a combination of both. 

But Loki's own first reaction was much more surprising, he ran and hid behind his brother. Before he knew it he had gripped the red cloak like a child hanging to his mother's skirts.

His, apparently stupid, brother's instinct was to walk straight towards the danger. Luckily his second instinct was stop himself after two steps and turn around to place the baby in Loki's arms. 

"Keep her safe, brother."

The big man might be rash, but he seemed to have some working brains under his muscles as well. Loki took the child and held her to his chest. He noticed he reflexively protected her with his left arm with the back of her head in his hand, which left his dominant hand free to fight. 

It was a small thing, but it taught Loki a very important thing about himself. He wasn't a coward, hiding behind his older brother, he was a tactician. He was someone who held back a mindless attack to get hold of the situation and act accordingly. 

Good, he had been worried there for a moment.

"Hey Brucie?" 

Loki looked over as Tony cautiously moved towards the monster, while gesturing to the others to take it easy. He didn't seem to show any fear at all. 

"What's wrong, big dude?" Tony asked softly. 

"Hulk hurt," came the growling answer. "Who hurt Hulk?"

To Loki's surprise, and terror, the big green eyes were then directed right at him. He accidentally hugged the baby a bit too tight and made her give a small cry. It only seemed to give the monster more incentive to want to blame whatever had happened in Loki. 

"Loki didn't do anything to you, Bruce," Tony continued in his calming tone. "Sit down, take a few deep breaths..."

The hulk screamed again. 

"...or not." Tony rubbed his ear. 

"Hulk want pretty girl!"

"Darcy's not here right now, Bruce," the man called Hawkeye, said the in the same calm tone. "But look..." he picked the darker of the two dogs off the floor "...it's cow."

Loki frowned, what a strange name for a dog. 

"Cow?" The hulk sniffed the air. "Hulk pet cow."

Hawkeye carried the dog closer, the dog himself had no concerns at all. Actually a few steps in and the dog freed himself and jumped happily towards the beast. The hulk caught the animal and gently hugged it. 

"I am Groot," said the talking tree. 

Another name down. 

"I agree," said the talking raccoon. "This is so fucked up, but it's kind of funny. Quill, look at that!"

The man called Quill, the man Ronan had been talking to before, wasn't looking at the hulk and the dog. He was looking at Ronan who, like Loki, was quite surprised over the big green man suddenly appearing in the middle of the soft blankets and pillows. 

Loki instinctively felt that this was this moment was a moment he should slip away from. Though at the same time his instincts told him to take care of the child. _Screw it,_ he thought, _she'll be safer with me than in here with the monster._

He slowly began to move towards the exit. 

Quill seemed only have eyes for Ronan, that couldn't be good, everyone else were concentrated on the hulk. Only a small very, very, hairy animal was paying attention to Loki. Though it was hard to tell if it was really looking at him or if had its fury back turned. 

Loki edged closer to the door. 

"Where do you think you are going?" asked the man with a metal arm. 

His blond friend also glanced over to Loki and frowned. Loki pretended to comfort the deeply sleeping baby. 

"Oh? Me?" Loki looked around, feeling a bit stumped. "I have honestly no idea."

"Babe?" sighed Tony from over by the green beast. "Did you do something?"

Loki felt a sudden surge of betrayal. He didn't know these people, but he had thought they were nice and had actually considered asking them for help. Especially the man who had claimed to be his boyfriend. Now he just wanted to leave. 

"Why am I'm the one to blame?" He took a shaky breath and glared at the handsome man. "I really liked you, Tony."

"What? Loki..." 

Tony started saying something desperate but was violently interrupted by another terrible scream from the hulk, and then he was hit from behind by a flying man. 

The wrapped up healer knocked Tony down, both of them fell on the floor with equal grunts and swearing, it looked quite painful. 

Loki looked over from where the healer had been thrown. 

The hulk had apparently been fighting Thor. The man with the metal arm, and his blond friend, Quill, the green woman, and the raccoon seemed ready to get into the fight. Their big friend, Groot, was protecting the young dog and little hairy thing, who didn't like to be protected and expressed it by admitting a sound similar to something dying. 

The dog the hulk had been hugging was now running around, loudly barking, which in turn made the other dog bark, though that dog sounded like it was a game hi was missing out on. Their barks seemed to upset the hulk even more. 

The cacophonous noise woke the baby in Loki's arms, she began to cry, or rather scream to the top of her tiny lungs. She had very good lungs. 

Loki's head felt like it was going to explode, the hole in his stomach hurt with the tensing of his body. He just wanted to leave. He closed his eyes and hugged the baby tight. He wanted to leave!

Next moment everything was quiet, even the baby. 

It was like he had gone deaf, but then he heard the child breathing and the low background noise of the humming of the engines. 

He carefully opened his eyes. The baby girl was staring up at him with something like surprise and nausea. It was quite an expression for such a newborn child. Loki knew the feeling. 

They were in a completely different place. 

It was a small corridor. It wasn't like the one outside the living quarters, but more rustic and less decorated. There was only a map over the ship, pointing out the shape and placing of the rooms, and where to find equipment to put out fires. 

"So..." Loki said to the tiny girl "...apparently I can teleport. I guess that's good to know."

Though it came with the prize of a horrible gutting pain to his stomach that he didn't care for at all. 

\---------------- 

"Take the prisoner to one of the empty rooms," said Natasha to Nebula and Darcy as they exited Tanngrisner onto the Heidrun loading bay. "Jane and I are summoning a war council."

"Are you going to do war on Asgard?" asked Nebula with a wicked smile. "Now I know I did the right choice coming with you."

"They started it," Jane glared at Fendral. "And they made me miss the supernova."

Fendral flinched at her threatening look. Natasha almost felt a bit scared herself watching the expression on Jane's face, though she guessed she had a similar face of her own. 

Neither of them were worried for their children's safety or health, which was a big relief, but it would be much better if they had them with them. So much better. The place inside Natasha that in this kind of situation would be filled with carefully hidden panic and distress, was now taken over by anger and longing for revenge.

Though Natasha's relationship with her child was a bit complicated. The complications being that her present body was an alternate reality body, and that she had never been pregnant with her own child. 

But it didn't matter if the feelings she felt were real or alternative, she was still a mother, and she was going to bust some sculls open if she didn't get her baby back. 

"I beg your pardon," JARVIS said from above them. "Might I suggest that you hold off on your prisoner transport and proceed directly to the Conservatory? There is an incident in progress."

"Bruce?" breathed Darcy. 

"Corrected, Ms. Lewis."

Darcy grasped and began to run in the direction of the elevator. Nebula only hesitated for a moment before following her, Natasha guessed she knew that the Conservatory was Coulson's main workplace. 

Fendral was awkwardly left behind. Natasha looked him over, he wasn't a flight risk. His honour, narrow options, and bad conscience would keep him in place. He looked back at her and seemed to know what she was thinking and that she was right. 

"Where's Mia?" asked Jane. 

"Mia?" Natasha raised an eyebrow. 

"My daughter," Jane raised her chin. "I'm naming them, Asgardian traditions can go screw. They had their chance and they threw it away. My children's names are Mia and Lowe, my mother's parent's nicknames for each other."

"Cute," Natasha gave a curt nod of approval.

Natasha felt a bit guilty for not giving her own daughter a _real_ name, but on the other hand who was to say what was a real name in space? As Jane said, screw traditions. 

"The names are now registered in the date base," acknowledged JARVIS. "Young Miss Mia is presently on the left lower deck cargo haul with her uncle."

"Lower dock?" Jane actually looked down at the floor. "Why did Loki take her there?"

"They are not within the range of my cameras. Both their scans and vitals seem to be within normal parameters. Though I believe it had something to do with not wanting to be in the same room as Hulk."

Natasha and Jane looked at each other, and agreed that was quite understandable. 

"I trust him," Jane indicated with her head the elevator that had just closed around Darcy and Nebula. "JARVIS, tell him to use his best judgement. Natasha and I are going to the Conservatory as well."

They started to move. 

"What about me?" asked Fendral a bit confused. 

"Well," Jane said over her shoulder without looking back. "What does your own good judgement say?"

When the elevator doors opened Fendral stepped inside with them. 

In the Conservatory they were met with a strange sight. 

Hulk was out cold, probably by the emergency sedative. He was laid face down on a large pile of pillows and blankets. Darcy had his head on his lap, it looked like a green beach ball with a face. Thor was there as well, though not all there, his eyes were sad and distant. 

Cow was standing on Hulk's back, suspiciously eying Kingsley as the doctor took medical scans. The pup was also standing there, he didn't seem to know why he was there, but kept on stupidly dog-smiling for appearances. 

Steve and Bucky were trying to get Tony to lay down on a mattress the floor. The man obviously wanted to leave, but he was bleeding out of a wound on his forehead and his left wrist was tightly bandaged. 

The four Guardians were there, but they seemed huddled in a private, and quite avid, discussion. Ronan was sitting against the wall, looking at them, thoughtfully stroking Bubbelibutt. He almost seemed like a Bond-villain, if Blofeld had been blue, bare chested, and muscular, and the cat twice as hairy. 

As Natasha entered Ronan shifted his gaze momentarily to her, there was no recognition. He then shifted his attention to Nebula with a face of a man who was regarding a very interesting, but totally unfamiliar, stranger. Nebula, in her turn, was suspiciously evaluating the passed Hulk, seemingly assessing if he was faking being unconscious or not. 

Nebula reminded Natasha of a younger her, though the blue young-looking woman was probably many years her senior. Who knew with space people?

Coulson wasn't there either, so Natasha guessed he was up on the Bridge. By an other scan of the room she concluded that Fitz had to be up there with him, not the best of pilot teams. 

Sam and Jemma were, a bit surprising in the seemingly tense situation, wildly making out next to the water convertor. Natasha guessed that there must had been a proposal, or something very much like it, to cause such a great distraction. 

Careet and Clint were talking to Tien who looked like she was very sternly writing down a report. She looked like a schoolmaster taking down names over who participated in a food fight, and with regard to the schools Natasha had reference to, it wasn't a happy face. 

"Tash!" called Clint when he caught sight of her. 

He jogged over to her. 

"I heard what happened," he growled as he gave her a tight hug and a quick kiss on the lips. "I’m going to use their Viking assholes as target practice, and then I'll let you set them on fire. I've been working on some exploding arrows, so don't you worry.”

Natasha hugged him back, glad that she had a man that understood her so well. 

"YOU!!!" 

A thunderous roar without thunder made everyone jolt, even Natasha. 

Thor strode across the room, passing Jane who was hurrying over to her science equipment, and grabbing Fendral by the neck. Thor didn't need his hammer to be a strong and intimidating man. 

"You fooled me!" Thor grabbed him around the neck. "I trusted you with my children!"

"Please, my prince," begged Fendral "King Odin and his council ordered me. I didn't know about his usage of the Teseract."

"You could have told me of their plans!"

Natasha didn't want to listen to Fendral's excuses again, she had heard enough of them on the way back from the Asgardian ship. Instead she took Clint's hand and walked with him over to the passed out Hulk. 

“What's been going on here?”

“Well, we watched a star explode, which was cool, the Guardians got an emergency call and had to leave, Sam and Jemma got engaged, Loki acted weirder than usual, and Bruce suddenly hulked out without provocation.”

“Business as usual then?”

"You should have seen it," giggled Clint. "Hulk threw Kingsley across the room. He landed on Tony, knocked him over as a bowling pin."

She glanced over to Tony who was doing quite well against Steve and Bucky's efforts to keep him down while they tried to tend to his bleeding nose and put a gauze around his right wrist. Natasha could hear him begging to see Loki and that something was wrong. 

"Is he okay?"

"I'm fine," said Kingsley, coming over to her with a scanner. "Stark took most of the impact, minor concussion and a fractured wrist." He looked over the scanners result. "You, Ms Romanoff, on the other hand should take more care about running off ship without your inoculations. You seem fine, according to this, but I would recommend caution."

"Of course," nodded Natasha. "Why did Hulk throw you?"

"Because I poked him," Kingsley calmly adjusted the bandages around his hands. "In order to do a good diagnosis. I was perhaps a bit careless in my examining, but I have now found out what is troubling Dr. Banner."

"What?" asked Clint. 

"Gallstones," he looked back to the now deeply snoring Hulk. "I think we are going to need a bigger ultrasound machine, because I'm not keen on taking a scalpel to this particular patient."

"Couldn't you just wait for..." Clint moved his hand in a uncertain waive "...shrinkage?"

"It's difficult to say, with the sporadic pain his 'pre-existing condition' could be a bit... wobbly. Also I'm not sure how big they are yet, maybe he can just pee them out as Hulk. 

Natasha sighed. This wasn't going to be pretty. 

“Hey!” Kingsley caught sight of her. “You haven't gone through decontamination. Are you mad going off ship unvaccinated?”

Not pretty…

\-------- 

 

Loki had met a very friendly mechanical being in the storage room he had suddenly appeared in. The being was mostly consisting of a big arm on a mobile platform, but when it came to allies, beggars can't be choosers. Anyway, Loki called it 'Dum-e' because that was was written on its casing. 

Dum-e had also been very forthcoming with creating a rudimentary baby seat for the infant girl, using some things from the room, its own toolbox, and a piece of fabric it found in one of the storage units. She was now safely kicking and gurgling from her place on Dum-e's mobile platform. 

"So," said Loki speaking to his two new friends. "This is what I figured out so far. One, the 'Tony'-person might be handsome but he is an asshole."

Dum-e gave a beep that Loki interpreted as agreement. 

"Two, my so-called brother is insane."

More beeping agreements, even the girl hiccuped. 

"Three, there are big green monsters onboard this ship. Four, I can teleport. Five, I have a very painful hole in my stomach, which means that, six, someone has attacked me. And seven, Ronan has been seduced, and, eight, we might have to rescue him."

His audience seemed captivated. 

"I suggest my next move will be to find out more of what I can do. Teleporting might be fine but I need more than that to defend myself, and you two, if anyone else turns into a monster."

He looked at the girl suspiciously for a short moment, but decided that, if she was a monster, she was too young to be a threat. 

"Okay..."

He paused. He had no idea where that strange word had come from. He knew what 'okay' meant linguistically, but he had no idea how it came to be in his vocabulary. He took a breath.

"Okay, teleportation is a kind of magic. What else is magic?"

Dum-e made a series of beeps and whistles, it sounded very similar to warnings. Loki ignored it and looked down at his hands. _Magic_ he thought as hard as he could. _Magic. Magic_.

“Aah!” 

A sudden feeling of being painfully stabbed ripped through his stomach. He clenched his eyes together to bare it. When he opened them a sphere of black was soaring between his hands. 

Black, it was just _black_. In a sphere. Floating. 

It was about the size of something he could cup in his palms. He didn't though, it really felt like something he shouldn't touch. He just stared at it, mesmerised. 

The baby made a gurgling sound that woke Loki from his thoughts. 

“Loki? Are you here? Thor said you have…”

A short woman with long brown hair carrying a very large hammer was standing by the door staring at the black sphere. She didn't look a threat, even with the weapon, but that didn't mean Liki wasn't weary. 

“Who are you?” he asked.

He didn't have the patience to keep his memory loss secret anymore. Come what may. 

“Who…?” she paused, looking between the sphere, the baby, and Loki’s face. “What have you done? I can feel…”

Loki could see the thoughts churning behind her eyes. She was concerned, worried, but not scared or angry. Pity, maybe. 

“You don't remember? It's okay, okay?”

There was that word again. 

“Don't worry, I’m her mom,” the woman gestured at the baby that now had fallen asleep with her big hammer. “But I really, really, think we need to contain that _thing_ before we do anything else.”


	26. Chapter 26

“What is it?”

Tony leaned closer to the very exciting unknown _thing_ , but was pushed back, very rudely, by a far too strong female hand holding a large hammer. 

“It's how we’re going to get to Asgard,” said Jane in a very serious tone. 

“Don't touch,” Rocket slapped Tony's outstretched hand away. 

“You're not the boss of me,” Tony grumbled, but backed off when Jane poignantly cleared her throat.

With her other hand Jane was keeping her daughter steady in the long piece of red fabric that was tied tightly around her upper body as a baby carrier. It looked suspiciously similar to Thor's cape. 

Tony, Rocket, Jane, Loki, Jemma, and Sam were standing in the big lab. The other crewmen were spread around the ship. Except for Ronan who had been taken to the med-bay, and Hulk that been sedated again and left in the Conservatory. Tony wondered how much of the strong sedative they had left. It was probably time to make a new batch. 

He sighed. 

Whatever the sphere was it couldn't be more upsetting to him than the fact that Loki had tricked him and had played a stupid and dangerous game with the Mind-stone. 

Rocket had placed the tennis ball-sized sphere inside something that looked like a small cylinder aquarium, one that was originally planned for sampling water plants. The glass container was placed inside a magnetic field created by one of Tony's spare chest arc-reactors, a slightly butchered ECG-machine, and Captain America's actual shield. 

Cap wasn't going to be happy about that. 

It was a crazy patchwork of a containment, and Tony could have done it much better if he didn't have a amnesiac boyfriend to handle. Still, Rocket had made it work, which in turn had freed Loki from needing to keep the sphere magically between his hands. 

As soon as Loki could relax he crossed his arms. Tony recognised that he had to talk to him, but the thing in the cylinder was too fascinating. 

“It’s Dark Matter,” explained Jane with excitement. “Actual pure and natural dark matter.”

Tony knew enough advanced physics and had seen enough sci-fi to know what that meant. Dark matter, or ‘anti-matter’, almost existed outside reality. A kind of holy grail for nerd physicists, it had only been created in laboratories, and only for milliseconds. 

This ball of non-existence piece of energy was still going strong and was continually emitting confused readings. None of the measuring machines were adapted to the negative scale. It would take a lot of rewiring and calculating, but least that was something Tony was more than qualified to do. 

“Loki must somehow have transported it from the collapsing star,” continued Jane. “It's absolutely incredible.”

“Yeah,” Rocket agreed in awe, and a slight bit of wanton greed. “It's fucking incredible.”

“Babe!” Tony looked to his forgetful boyfriend. “How did you manage to do that?”

“Don't call me that,” Loki glared at him. “All I know of you is you blaming me and talking down to me, I can't fathom how I could ever end up in a relationship with such a person.”

“He tricked you,” informed Sam with a smug face. “You both got messed up some kind of whacked up mutual emotional hostage situation. I have no clue how you two even make it work.”

“But we _do_ make it work,” Tony sent Sam a quick glare before turning back to Loki. “Because we are very much in love! And, fine, yes, I might've been a bit rough back there, which I kind of promised you never to be, if you didn't ask for it, if you know what I mean, but I was under a bit of pressure with my best friend being in pain and all, not that you aren't my best friend since you are my boyfriend, but he kinda…”

“Shut up, you imbecilic cretin!” growled Loki. “Take a breath! I can't hear myself think while you prattle on like a deranged parrot!”

“Babe! You do remember me!” Tony grabbed hold of Loki and gave him a quick but hard kiss. “I always knew I was unforgettable.”

Then nothing happened, except Loki kept staring at him in pure shock. Tony responded with a grin that was half apologetic and half teasing. The others seemed to hold their breath while looking between them. 

The next moment Loki had grabbed hold of his shirt and roughly pulled Tony in for a wild, deep, and air sucking kiss. Tony felt dizzy and had to grab hold of Loki just to keep upright. It was the most incredible kiss of his life. 

Someone, it could have been Rocket, cleared their throat, it probably had been repeated a few times. It made Tony come to terms with reality and reluctantly pull away from the silky, though slightly chilly, softness of Loki's lips and tongue. 

“You kissed me!” he said. “You are touching me.”

Everyone looked at Loki’s hands on Tony's chest. Loki frowned. 

“What…?”

“Shit, sweetheart,” Tony breathed. “What the fuck did you do?”

————————

“No,” the blue-skinned woman, Nebula, looked up at him with a reproachful glare. “We are not relatives.”

The skin on the upper right side of her face seemed to be have been replaced with a soft metal that moved with her face muscles. That must have hurt. Actually, she seemed to have several bodily replacements. He felt pity for her, but sensed that it was in neither of their of their characters to express, or receive, it. 

Ronan was relived that even if he had lost his memory, he still felt he had character. Though he wasn't sure that it was the character he would have chosen, if such things could be chosen. 

“She used to work for you,” said Peter, the handsome pinkish male. 

“Or rather…” commented the green-skinned woman dully “…she, as I, were lent to you.”

“Are we at least the same species?” Ronan asked, strangely feeling that he wanted a connection with someone. 

“I don't know,” she gave him a sour glare. “I don't know how much is left of me.”

No one seemed to know what to say to that. Peter shifted, looking like he wanted to do something but had no idea what that was. 

“I am Groot,” said the large tree-creature that had been sitting in one of the patches of earth in the Conservatory, and pushed the green woman forward with his long arm. 

“Fine,” she clenched her teeth and gave him a glare. “Nebula, come, let’s talk.”

“I don't want to.”

“So we go and fight in the training room and let these two talk.”

“Fine,” Nebula rolled her eyes. 

The women left, Groot following them, leaving Roman with Peter. He felt a bit nervous being alone with the man that obviously was nervous to be left alone with him as well. 

“So…” Peter rubbed his hands against the side of his thighs. 

What ever he was about to say he was interrupted by the computer voice coming from a unclear direction in the room. 

“Should I play your message now, Mr Ronan?”

“What message?” Ronan frowned. 

“You recorded a message before you and Loki deleted your memories. You asked me to play it as soon as you and Mr. Quill were alone together and no one else in hearing range.”

Ronan looked at Peter, and Peter looked back, both equally confused. Though Ronan felt a bit relived as well. He would like to more about himself, except for his name and a tenuous grasp of his place on the strange ship. 

“Y-yes?” He felt a bit ashamed over the tremble in his voice. 

_”I died…”_ a gruff but elegant voice said, it must be Ronan’s even if he didn't recognise it outside his own head. _”I died, I forgot myself, then I remembered, and now I wan’t to forget again.”_ There was a deep intake of air, as a gathering of strength. “Star-Lord…”

Ronan saw Peter straighten up as if someone unexpectedly had called his name, perhaps it was a nickname. It suited him.

 _…you will most likely think no me a fool, but the reason I choose to return to my ignorant state was…_ the voice was really strained now _“…because of you.”_

“Me?” Peter pointed to himself “Because of me? What do you mean ‘because of me’?”

“Why are you asking me?” Ronan gave him a glare. “I don't even know who you are. Listen to the recording.”

The computer had graciously paused during their short exchange, but started playing again as they returned their attention to it. 

_”I felt myself attracted to you when my memory was gone, the attraction was still there when I regained it. That is what is wrong. My emotions towards you, and for that matter all the new friends I have met in this ship, were not… compatible with the emotions that I carry from my past life. There is so much anger and hatred within me…”_

Ronan could feel the strained emotions coming through the voice, but he could not imagine himself having them. Frustration and irritation was the closest to anger he could come, and at the moment he felt both. He wished for himself to get on with it. 

_”I can't live with war this kind of raging inside me. On one side there is so much violence and resentment to all species not Kree, but for the traitors within the Kree. On the other side stand you and those onboard this ship who have showed me such kindness. There is the greatest difference between me and Dr Banner, he is able to hold back his monster. Me, if I were to let go and go back to being Ronan_ the Accuser _, I would not be able to come back, I would return to my old ways… Living and killing, murdering, for the faded glory of Kree Empire.”_

_Ronan felt cold, what kind of horrible person had he been?  
 _  
“I'm going to ask Loki use the Mind Stone to erase my memory. At least when I'm only aware of the facts of what I've done, and not remembering it, it's easier for me to live with myself, and also to make amends.”_ _

_So it had all been voluntary, thought Ronan. Wasn't that grand?_

__”I have no real knowledge of your feelings towards me, Star-Lord, but I have felt your eyes on me for other reasons than I should deserve by our history together. I do not hold you obligated to be my friend, just know that with this action I make myself able to be yours.”_ _

_“End of recording,” said the computer._

_There was silence, the only sound was the artificial climate of the Conservatory quietly humming._

_“Sooo…” Peter stretched out the syllable._

_“Could you tell me what I did that was so bad?”_

_“Oh, really? So after all that, it's up to me to fill you in?”_

_—————_

_“I only did what The Allfather told me to do.”_

_“Hold your tongue!” Thor gave Fendral a deathly glare. “You stole my son, _my son_ , and the daughter of my very good friends! As a consequence I have now lost the loyalty of Mjölner.”_

_“I am deeply…”_

_“I don't want to hear it.”_

_Thor sighed deeply and heavily sat down next to Fendral on the blue exercise mat. He looked around the gymnasium and all of the equipment that was preferred by Midgardians. He felt the most tired I had felt since he had fought Jörmundganr, and that said a lot._

_He put his face in his hands and rubbed his beard, it had grown quite a bit longer than he preferred. Fendral shifted uncomfortably._

_“The Allfather means well,” he said carefully. “He wants them to have a home.”_

_“This ship is their home.”_

_“Forgive me for my impertinence, My Prince, but… but is that your Lady’s words or your own?”_

_“Is it also a request from my father to make me dismiss of Jane's opinion?”_

_“It was implied,” Fendral grimaced. “Forgive me.”_

_Thor huffed. He wasn't in a forgiving mood, and he'd wouldn't be in a while._

_He had been prepared that Odin would interfere, but this was going too far. He looked down at his hands that were resting on his lap._

_“I wasn't strong enough,” he breathed. “My son was taken, and I couldn't hold on to Mjölner. Jane bested me…”_

_He had gotten a new perspective on things since arriving to a Midgard this time around. His view on women had immediately changed after meeting Jane and Darcy, and when he later meet Hill and Natasha he had seen female warriors in a new Loki get that Sif never managed to show him. Was this the next step?_

_Could a mother be stronger than a god?_

_He was well aware that he really wasn't a god, just a being of superior and supernatural powers, but old habits die hard. As the habit of being worthy of Mjölner. He thought that he had learnt his lesson the last time he had lost the hammer, apparently he had not._

_Or was this a new lesson? And who was teaching him it?_

_“I said that I don't want to talk!”_

_“What is your problem, Nebula?”_

_Thor looked up at the two women and the tall tree-person who had just entered the gymnasium. It had been the green-skinned one, Gamora, that had put up the challenge._

_“Oh, so I have problem now?”_

_“Yes, you have a problem! With your head!”_

_“I have a problem with you, _sister_.”_

_“You are a spoiled brat…”_

_“Me? Spoiled? Don't make me puke!”_

_“Do you want to fight me? Is that it? Then fight me!”_

_“Fine!” Nebula shouted back. “I will fight you!”_

_Gamora hadn't even taken half a step forward before they clashed together with fists, kicks, and bared teeth. Thor just blinked, it seemed that his gloomy introspection had been interrupted by something much more interesting._

_“I am Groot?” Groot pointed to the mat next to Thor._

_“Welcome my friend,” Thor moved slightly toward Fendral to make room._

_Groot put out a hand and caught Gamora tumbling against him, she took it in her stride and used him as leverage to make a high kick that Nebula blocked with an arm. The impact vibrated with the clang of metal as shoe buckles met artificial limb._

_Gamora pushed forward, Nebula blocked. Their arms, and occasionally legs, moved fast, punching, blocking, screaming, kicking, throwing, hitting…_

_Back on Asgard, watching two skilled women battle was an event. It was even said to be a thing of beauty. There would be wild cheers, goading, and applause. This wasn't battle, this was a fight. A fight between siblings, even if they were not by blood. It unnerved Thor in a way he never thought possible._

_It did not remind him of himself and Loki._

_He got to his feet._

_“Stop it!”_

_—————_

_For Loki to forget his unease of touch and intimacy, even his sexuality, there had to be something more than just a mind wipe. Those things didn't exist as memories, thoughts, beliefs, or even values, they were biological. At least they were biological for Loki, Tony knew as much._

_This had been done with true intent targeting. Loki had done this willingly._

_Perhaps not the memory-wipe, Loki would have needed to have his wits about him to get away with such a plan Tony had traced the memory loss down to a huge energy flair from the collapsing star about at the same time Loki and Ronan must have done their little ritual._

_The energy flair had wrecked more than Loki’s plans._

_“Tony, are you even listening to me?”_

_“Sorry, Jane,” Tony snapped out of his thoughts to look at her. “I was just…”_

_“I know,” she sighed with an understanding smile. “You are worried about Loki, but at least he is here. Mine and Tasha’s babies are trapped in another realm, I don't know how many light years away, and we need your help with this.”_

_Yes, missing babies, anti-materials, inventing dimensional travel… Tony nodded and got out of his downwards funk and walked over to Jane and Jemma._

_Sam had left to accompany Loki to the Med-bay, Leo had arrived with some equipment, and Clint had picked up the baby. Jane had said she had named the girl ‘Mia’, it was a nice name and hopefully not too hard for aliens to pronounce._

_Tony and the three scientists gathered around the small tank with Dark Matter and stared at it. The thing was floating, similar to a pitch-black fist-size mass of water in zero-gravity._

_“Soo…” said Leo after a moment. “Exactly how did we get hold of this?”_

_“I'm not sure,” Jane tapped the glass lightly with her pen without getting a reaction. “Loki forgot he could do magic, do he tested it out, and we ended up with this. I guess we're lucky he didn't hurt the ship.”_

_“No…” Tony sighed and pulled up a holographic sketch-board of blue light in the air in front of him “…he only hurt himself, and me a bit as well.”_

_Nobody seemed to want to comment on that. Tony didn't blame them, he didn't know what else to say either._


	27. Chapter 27

“Are you sure?” 

Loki looked the strange machine over. It resembled a mechanical coffin. It was attached to a large device that seemed to be radiating cold. The coffin had a small window to look out of, still the inside looked dark. 

“Yes,” the doctor with his face and hands all wrapped up in bandages assured him. “It will help you. If not to remember, then at least to get some good rest.”

He had just changed the binds around Loki’s stomach. Loki had. Even disgusted by the sight and wondered why it didn't hurt more. No wonder Tony had seemed uncomfortable holding him. 

The doctor seemed a bit stressed. Though that was quite understandable because the big green monster was sleeping uneasy in the next room, and as soon as the doctor was finished with Loki he was going to hold a big radiation device to its nether regions.

Apparently the monster had some kind of stones inside him and they needed to get them out before he turned back into human. From what Loki had gathered from the doctor’s and the girl called Darcy’s conversation, the stones were big for a human, but small for a monster. The procedure would be much easier if the monster stayed big. 

Though that would also meant more danger if the monster woke up. 

It might be better to hide inside the machine if that happened. 

Loki sighed. He knew that he had done something stupid, at least in Tony's eyes. He wondered what it was, since all he had done was to kiss him. It had been a very nice kiss. Loki hadn't even minded the beard. 

Still, something was wrong. 

He had overheard Tony talking to the doctor about it. Apparently Loki was quite talented at overhearing things, another skill, besides teleportation, that might become useful to him in the future. 

Loki looked over to the two women, Darcy and Natasha, who were going to assist the doctor in his monster endeavour .

“It’s all right,” said the woman Darcy smiling up at him. “You will feel much better afterwards. You always do.”

She seemed nice. 

“Are we friends?” he asked. 

“Best girlfriends,” she smiled without hesitation. 

That seemed a bit illogical, but Loki decided not to argue. It felt good to know he had a best girlfriend. 

“And as your best girlfriend,” Darcy continued “I’m going to earn you that while you're in there you'll might experience being impervious to the cold… turning blue… and grow horns. Oh, and your your eyes will turn completely red.”

Loki blinked. 

“But it's perfectly fine!” she hurried to say. “It’s just who you really are, hidden by magic. You are Frost Giant, a small one.”

“So…” Loki turned to look at his mirror image in the glass window of the coffin-like machine. “So this isn't me?” 

“Of course it's you,” Darcy smiled up at him. “You're always you.”

“Except when I'm not.” Loki said quietly under his breath. 

He felt that he had found out another reason why Tony was so apprehensive towards him. 

“Did you say something?” Darcy asked. 

But before Loki could come up with a lie she was called away to the other room where the green monster had started to move. 

A small Frost Giant, Loki pondered. How big is a big one?

He looked over to the other room through the glass partition, they were quite busy. Darcy was trying to calm the groggy green monster down, the other woman, Natasha, was loading a big gun, and the doctor was trying to save his equipment. 

Ronan, who had just been standing by watching, took a few steps forward, ready to fight the monster if it came for anyone. The man was a fighter by instinct, even with his memory gone he was ready. 

What had Loki's first instinct at a sign of danger been?

To run away and hide.

Loki decided to find out more about himself. He teleported away from the Med-bay. 

——————

Steve was chopping up vegetables as if his life was depending on it. The ship might be in emotional disarray, but everyone still needed to eat and it was Steve and Bucky's turn in the kitchen. 

Though Bucky wasn't much help with the cooking, he wasn't as bad as Thor but wasn't I fat after either. Perhaps vegetable cutting would have suited him better than preparing the meat, but Steve felt the need for slamming a knife around, albeit under controlled forms. 

He was a bit jealous of the Guardians that had been able to leave the ship to go help their friend. Steve missed being on missions. Don't get him wrong, he liked the ship, but his daily routine of yoga, domestic duties, repetitive security checks, and great sex with Bucky couldn't measure up to a good mission. 

There were so many amazing things to see and experience out here in space, but all they seemed to do was saving themselves, training, cooking, and getting tangled up in a mess of emotional problems. Earth had been many things but it hadn't been… boring. 

The yoga helped him to focus his mind, training helped him focus his body, and sex with Bucky did both, but there had to be something more. Steve almost wished that he had been sold as a sex slave back on the pirate space station, that way he might have ended up somewhere he could kick someone’s ass for real. 

“I'm pretty sure that cutting board is dead,” said Bucky, putting his arms around Steve's waist. 

Steve focused his eyes. The wooden cutting board was basically just splinters under the sharp knife. 

“I'm all for eating roughage, _Mela en' coiamin_ ,” Bucky's good hand travelled over Steve's chest. “But I that might be a little too much fibres even for me. Wanna talk about it?”

“What did you call me?” Steve let go of the knife and turned around so that they where in each other’s arms. “What language was that?”

“Just a made-up language that the Allspeak can't translate…” Bucky leaned forward and kissed him. 

“Was is Elvish?” Steve laughed. “Are you speaking Elvish to me? You learned Elvish?”

Bucky shrugged and kissed him again, this time a bit more seriously. 

“So what? It’s good to have a language no one else knows.”

“Or you're just a nerd,” Steve kissed him back. 

“Hey, I could have chosen Klingon as well, but Elvish has more nice things for me to call you without referring to you as a good warrior.”

“Thank you?”

Steve was scared to ask if Bucky actually had learned Klingon as well. 

“You're welcome,” Bucky smirked charmingly. “So, wanna tell me what got your blue spandex hotpants all in a twist? Or do you want me to guess?”

Steve met his eyes, he wanted Bucky to guess. Bucky was always tight lipped about emotions he couldn't joke away, though he had had a bit more sense of humour about it before he became the Winter Soldier. 

“Fine,” Bucky sighed. “You are irritated that Peter Quill didn't ask you to join them, even though you are his hero.”

That was actually a bit more detailed than Steve had admitted to himself. His silence must have been answer enough because Bucky laughed and hugged him tighter. 

“You're not made to be a housewife, are you? And I was getting my hopes up,”

“Are you kidding me?”

“Yes,” he pressed his forehead against Steve's. “I'm so bored with this shit myself. Do you think the Guardian’s are hiring?”

A woman coughed. 

“If they're not, Nova Corp is.” 

Tien was walking into the kitchen. She was smiling and Steve realised it was the first time he'd seen her teeth. They were slightly rose coloured, there also seemed to be a few more of them than on a human. It was a bit shark-like, but it didn't take away anything from her dark brown lips. 

“I have been observing you for a while now, Captain,” she continued as she moved towards the table and Steve and Bucky disengaged from each other. “You as well, Sergeant. You are the type of recruits we are looking for.”

“Really?” Steve felt a bit suspicious, but let her go on talking while clearing up his wood-chipping mess. “And what type is that?”

“I think you know your own credentials, Captain.”

Without being asked she took a knife and started slicing some of the potato-roots they had found on the small planet a few days ago. They were deep purple on the inside, almost like beats but not as staining. 

“What?” Bucky snorted. “Chemically altered, freeze-burned brains, and a trigger happy attitude?”

She gave him a look that wasn't amused. 

“Strong, courageous, and intelligent.”

“That last one doesn't sound like you gave us in mind to be foot soldiers,” Steve produced a new board from the cupboard and began chopping a bit more carefully this time.

“Correct.” She paused and looked around. “Can we talk, off the record?”

“You mean JARVIS?”

She nodded. Steve exchanged a glance with Bucky, they both knew that there was no privacy options in the public areas, but JARVIS was able to hold things to himself if it didn't threaten the safety of the ship. 

“It's fine,” Steve gave Tien a nod. “Go on.”

She hesitated for a moment while scraping her very precisely cut potato off the board and onto the oven plate. Her pieces put Steve's randomly chopped ones to shame. Also, he was still finding small wood chips everywhere. 

“It's not official yet,” Tien slightly lowered her voice. “But Nova Corp is creating a special team to defend the galaxy.”

“What about the Guardians?” Steve frowned. 

“We feel that they are a bit… uncontrollable mercenaries . With our own team Nova Corp don't have to rely on the whims of ex-criminals. I was sent aboard this ship not only to write a report, but also to see if I could find recruits. You, Captain, are just what we are looking for, for a second in command.”

“‘Second’?” Steve raised an eyebrow. 

“Always the bridesmaid, never the bride,” mused Bucky. 

“You are still a stranger to these here parts,” Tien said, probably not knowing she sounded like she was quoting an old cowboy movie, or she might've looked through some of The ship’s entertainment files. “When you are more acclimated you will have a team of your own to lead.”

“You're going to have several teams?”

“When this first one proves successful I will be given permission by high command to create four more teams.”

So this lady was going to be the Nick Fury of space, Steve held back a smirk so not to insult and confuse her with an inside joke. Something must have gotten through to his eyes, though, and Tien pinched her lips a bit. 

“What?”

Steve hesitated. 

“We have kind of made friends with the Guardians… We have several other crime fighting teams back on Earth, and we always seemed to step on each other's toes.”

“The Earth is only one planet, Captain.”

She was right, of course. Though Steve still had some silly pride over his home planet. He didn't fell too good using a fact given to him by Loki, but he had to take a defensive stand. 

“Earth _is_ the centre of the Nine Realms,” he said. “It makes us strategically important.”

“The Nova Corp district is covers over eighty planetary systems, hundreds of stations, _and_ every sized ship moving between them. We are also allied with several groups outside the district, including some of the realms you speak of.” She gave him another smile. “I don't think you will be stealing the Guardian’s missions. They should be thankful for the help.”

It was hard to argue, but Steve frowned. 

“I don't really think teams like ours and the Guardians should be controlled by privatisation. I’m all for a police force and special tactical groups, but teams like ours should be responsible to the people that needs us, not the people that someone tells us to help. How could we know if the missions we are getting are for justice and not for profit?”

“Couldn't they be both?” Tien asked. “And I assure you, you can even ask Peter Quill to confirm, the Nova Corporation is for justice. We stand in the side of the law against criminals, rich or poor, businesses or individuals.”

“But sometimes you have to go outside the law for the greater good. Isn't that what the Guardians are doing?”

“There is always a way within the law,” she gave him a stern look. “The Guardians are reckless and undisciplined. I have seen the way you react to your commander’s decisions. He's just like them, thinking himself unanswerable to no one but himself.”

Steve just looked at her. Had she really seen all that? Bucky gave a short laugh as he wiped down his metal hand with a disinfectant tissue. 

“Lady,” he shook his head. “I don't know where you get your information, but let me tell you that Steve is the original rule breaker. I have gotten into more trouble than I care to remember trying to hold him back. And that's before the super-serum, mind you.”

“Buck…” Steve shifted meekly. 

“Peter Quill, _and_ Tony Stark even though he won't admit it, grew up with this man as their role model. If he seems disapproving in Stark it’s because he doesn't think Stark goes far enough.” He laughed again as he threw away the tissue. “And to Stark only being answerable only to himself? The amount of pressure that man puts on himself would break your back. And…”

“Please, Buck…” Steve tried again. 

“No, Stevie, let me say this. There is no better professional team than Steve and Tony, they complete each other. Hell, if me and Loki weren't around who’d know what would happen? Shut up, Steve, you know it's true, and that's all I have to say on the matter. I'm sorry, Tien, but I think you need to look elsewhere for your recruits.”

The kitchen was quiet for several seconds. 

_”Well, thank you for the vote of confidence, Barnes,”_ said Tony's voice from the comm. _”I love you too. Now would you mind sending my missed opportunity lover to get the crate marked ‘G-7’ from the haul and bring it to the lab? Agent’s on his way down to help keep your cooking from killing us all.”_

Again the kitchen was quiet. Tien cleared her throat. 

“So I guess that is a ‘no’?” 

“Yes,” Steve took off his apron and gave a half a apologetic smile. “Sorry. But if it makes you feel better, we’re kind of planning of doing it he same thing as the Guardians as soon as we get our space-bearings.”

“Actually…” she sighed with a sad smirk and a small incredulous shake of her head “…I knew that all along, I was just trying to postpone it.”

—————

 

“We need a planet.”

Jane's decisive words made everyone take a moment and step back to look at their holographic calculations in full. JARVIS had automatically been checking and combining their equations and graphs while they were working. 

She was right. They could actually build a very rudimentary Bifrost of their own, but they would need a very, _very_ , large mass to counterbalance it. 

“How large?” asked Jemma, whose expertise lay more in biology than in physics.

“Think gravitational pull of Jupiter,” said Tony, as he put the reference picture of the large striped planet on the board. “Though preferably without an impenetrable poisonous gassy atmosphere and constant volcanic eruptions.”

“That's quite a tall order,” said Leo. 

“Yes,” Jane pulled up the star map, one that she had made herself by combining her own half-understandable personal notes, JARVIS’ observations, and the Guardians’ maps. “The closest one with best potential is…” she paused as she searched “…here.”

The planet in question reminded Tony of the Moon, if the Moon was a fully inflated threatened blowfish. 

“It's way smaller than Jupiter,” Tony examined the image. “That's more like Neptune or something.” 

“It has a very dense core…” Jane made some adjustments to the image so they could concentrate on the planet. “Which means we can't land, unless we want to be crushed.”

“So we have to build the bridge in space, with a gravitational kickback? Any more good news?”

“We only got one shot? Then we have to find a new planet.”

“Perfect. JARVIS give Jane's coordinates to the Bridge.”

“Yes, Sir.”

“Tell them I'll improve on them as soon as I can.”

“Yes, Dr. Foster.”

The door to the lab opened and Cow the dog rushed in and sniffed Rocket’s butt. 

“Hey!” Rocket jumped away. “Hairy bastard!”

Steve entered with the crate Tony had asked for. He looked around the room and then at the image of the giant Moon-planet. 

“Working hard?” he asked, putting the crate down on the floor

“Hardly working,” answered Tony. “Can you unpack it and put it on the table?”

“You know, you could have asked one of the bots, or done it yourself with the suit.”

“Are you shying away from work, Captain Rogers?”

“No, but I'm a bit overqualified for just being your errand boy.”

“You're complaining? Now? After that speech your lover boy just did to Tien?”

“I don't appreciate you listening in on private conversations.”

“Maybe you should be more attentive on when pee are hailing you, and not be so into your boyfriend’s ass, or listening to be snatched away to be a space cadet!”

Steve looked at him poignantly. Tony took a breath. 

“Sorry,” Tony sighed again. “I'm a bit off at the moment.”

“Loki?”

“I can't fucking believe he did that. He promised me that he wouldn't.” He massaged the root of his nose. “And then a stupid star-flare erases his entire fucking memory, and now he thinks I'm a some kind of perverted brute.”

Steve patted his shoulder. 

“If it makes you feel better, I have always thought you as perverted.”

“But not a brute?” 

“Not since New York.”

“Gee, thanks, Cap,” Tony gave half a sarcastic smile. “Just unpack the crate.”

“By the way, is that my shield?”

“No,” said Rocket.


	28. Chapter 28

Loki was a monster. His skin wasn't blue like Ronan’s or Nebula’s, his skin was cold blue, almost like a corpse. Scarring covered his skin in fine patterns, slightly darker blue in hue. His nails were black, his teeth felt longer and sharper, and two large horns had spiralled out from the sides of his forehead. 

But the worst thing was the eyes. No irises, no pupils, red like blood. 

The mirror must be lying to him, this couldn't be him. This wasn't him. In sudden panic, he quickly reached around and touched the lower part of his back. No tail, thank you for small mercies. 

He touched the glass and it immediately frosted over. Loki took a step back. ‘Frostgiant’. He thought, breathing hard. 

After roaming the ship in scattered deep thoughts for a while, he had found himself in front a shower room. Inside he had undressed and turned on the cold water on all the five showers. His breath had been a cloud of vapour before his mouth. 

He had stood for a while just watching himself naked in the large mirrors. First he had focused on the large wound in his side. It should hurt much more than it did. Some of the colours reminded him of the sight he had seen through the ceiling of the Conservatory. 

It looked as if he could fit two fingers in there, though before having time to act on this somewhat disturbing thought, his skin had began reacting to the cold in the room. 

He turned away from the mirror and his own eerie eyes. The entire shower room was frozen over. Each of the shower heads was attached to a strange spiky column of ice. 

He felt the cold against his skin, but he wasn't freezing, or in pain. It actually felt… quite pleasant. Loki took a deep breath, there was no sign of it, the vapour was gone. 

He looked back at the mirror. His horns had grown even more, twisting out from his head, the scarring on his torso was darker, and his teeth so sharp that he couldn't properly close his mouth. 

No wonder Tony had pushed him away when they kissed. 

—————

Clint was doing push-ups in the common room. 

The baby was pleasantly sleeping in a very cool and stable pillow fort guarded by two loudly snoring dogs. The huge flatscreen was divided in four, showing security feeds from the med-bay, the big laboratory, the gym where Thor had dragged Fendral's scream at him, and Butterfingers’ mobile camera. 

Butterfingers was pleasantly rolling the hallways of the ship checking offline components, security fastenings, and fire extinguishers. Clint had mostly put it on for the symmetry of the screen, but it was quite soothing, like watching someone else play a uneventful video game. 

Clint was all for being soothed. He didn't mind being on babysitting duty, but he would've preferred that the baby he was watching was his own. He had really taken to being a father, though he hadn't expected to be this worried so far ahead of her teenage years. 

At his eighty-second push-up he paused momentarily to glance at the partition of the TV depicting the lab. It was where the big brains, apart from Bruce for obvious reasons, had gathered to figure out their next step. 

The step was without question to get to Asgard, but even Clint understood that there were some minor steps to take before that was possible. The first was of course how to get there. Apparently Asgard wasn't even on the same plane of existence. 

Clint's basic knowledge of physics and space were more or less based on instinct from holding a bow and arrow, but the shortest distance between two points was almost always a straight line. 

“Barton to Stark,” he grunted as he gracefully jumped up from the plank-position to stand on his feet. 

_What's up, Hawkeye?”_ asked Tony. 

He looked tired, and a bit sad. Clint felt bad for him. Loki had come so far in both recovery and relationship, only to have it erased from him. It was still not all certain that it had been entirely deliberate, but it caused more than enough problems either way. 

Clint focused on the small camera next to the television that sent his image to a monitor in the lab. 

“This might be really stupid and out of the blue, but do you remember what you told me back on Earth after New York? When I asked if you could explain the Nine Realms to me?”

Tony frowned, he had probably explained a lot of things to a lot of people back then. 

_”Reminded me.”_

“You said that the concept of other realms where impossible.”

 _”Did I?”_ Tony exchanged glances with Jane who also was frowning. _”I think I have changed my mind since then. The evidence has been slightly overwhelming…”_

“But what if you were right?” insisted Clint. “You had a theory that there where no other realms because there could physically only be one, infinite, universe,”

_”Was I drunk?”_

“Probably,” Clint hesitated, he wasn't sure why he had brought it up in the first place. 

_”Yeah, I don't…”_

_“Wait!”_ Jane interjected. _”It could make sense.”_

She hurried over to Tony's holographic board, and with a swipe of her arm she had erased all his notes and calculations. 

_”Hey!”_ protested Tony. 

Jane ignored him and started to write her own numbers down. To Clint it looked mostly like if old Greek and hieroglyphics had a lovechild consisted by mostly numbers and squiggles, though the other scientists in the lab were gasping and ooh-ing like they were watching the act of conception between the ancient languages itself. 

Bad simile, thought Clint, but it was already out there. 

_”It could work!”_ Jane exclaimed with a joyful sound. _The theory about one universe is utter total and complete bullshit, of course, but if we_ suppose _it's true, theoretically, the numbers add up!”_

 _“So…”_ Leo came up to the halo-board and drew some of his own squiggles _“…if we treat dimensional travel as we would traveling to the other side of the universe…”_

 _“Yes!”_ exclaimed Tony and made some strange moves in the air that made his old notes reappear and somehow merge with Jane's and Leo’s. _That's our solution! Barton, I never tho guy I’d say this, but you are a fricking genius!”  
_   
“Of course I am,” said Clint. “I’ll leave you to it then. Over and out.”

He walked over to check on the sleeping baby before resuming his workout. She was sleeping like the good sweet demigod she was. At least Clint hoped she was good, he wasn't that keen on fighting her evil amazon lightning bolts in his sixties. 

The two dogs curiously glanced up at him for a moment but then sighed and went back to sleep, the puppy started to snore. Clint was still amazed that the yellow dog had shown up out of nowhere but at the same time had it been there all along. That, and Nat’s resurrection, if anything, proved the existence of a multiverse. 

He completed his full set of two-hundred push-ups before his next check on the snooze bunch. Everyone was still sleeping, Clint felt like doing the same, but he still had some leg exercises to go. 

The four sections on the television trudged on. They guys in the lab were hunkered over equations, the guys in med-bay were hunkered around Hulk’s junk (which was a bit disturbing, and not only because Nat was one them). In the gym Thor had stopped yelling and started grumping, Butterfingers was…

Clint paused. What was Butterfingers doing? He tilted his head watching the feed. 

That wasn't Butterfingers’ camera, he couldn't fit in the air ducts. Actually, that was a part of the ventilation system that not even Clint could access without special equipment and/or small remote controlled vehicles. 

Then the camera reached a grate. All of the air ventilation grates on the ship where constructed to rest on easy to open hinges, they were computerised, but could all be overridden by a visual manual handle. Clint watched as whatever the camera was attached to push against the grate to escape. That at least proved to him that it didn't have human intelligence. 

He was just about to send a drone to the spot when the grate opened from the outside and Loki's uncanny Frost Giant face appeared, filling up the quarter of the screen. 

At first Loki seemed surprised, but then he gave a sweet sad smile that even Clint could admit was very attractive despite the alien face. He was starting to suspect who the camera belonged to as Loki lifted it out and started to cuddle it as a teddybear. 

It was Bubble-whatever, Nebula’s hairy pet. But what was it doing with a surveillance camera in its head? Was it a spy? Was she a spy? Clint had trusted both of them, brought them aboard, vouched for them…

He paused again to look at the screen. It was one of the shower rooms, though it looked a bit different. Whiter… Also, this close he could see several ice-crystals on Loki's cheeks. They looked awfully like tears. 

“JARVIS?” He took a breath. “Should I check on him?”

“If you wouldn't mind, Agent Barton,” the polite computer answered. “All the bots are otherwise engaged.”

It must be strange to be a sentient being but only being able to give tactile comfort through other beings. Clint should really try to spend more time with JARVIS. Perhaps they could play a video game or something. 

“Damn it,” Clint sighed and walked over to strap the baby carrier to his chest. 

As the ‘first responder’, so to speak, it was by the ship unwritten rules his responsibility to give assistance if no one better for the task could be contacted. That ‘one better’ would probably be Tony, or Darcy, or… 

Shit, Clint was actually the third closest person Loki had onboard. Not counting Thor who seemed somehow to function outside the scale. 

Anyway, thought Clint as he very very carefully placed the sleeping half-thunder-god baby in the carrier, the potential spy-aspect would be enough for him to go investigate. Steve and Bucky did of course outrank him in ship security but… yeah. 

“Damn it,” he grunted. “Why am I always the third?”

Of course he ignored the bitter facts that on most other ratings he wouldn't show up until sixth or even tenth place. Also he ignored that it was likely that the others wasn't aware that there even existed a ranking system. 

It was probably a hangover from his childhood where he and the other carnival children were judged by their abilities. He had worked his baby-archer butt off to stay on top. He wasn't bitter in the least, he actually liked his semi-slacker lifestyle, it just made food for thought. 

The dogs followed him quietly, though the younger one made more skips and jumps than his adult friend. He smiled down at the animals. 

“Clint.”

Clint looked over to see Steve coming towards him, he was carrying a large crate that Clint never could have gotten off the ground by himself, the dogs ran over to greet the man. Clint put a hand on the back of Mia's head so she wouldn't be too scared by the puppy's yelps. She didn't notice it. 

“What’re you up to?” Clint asked in a low voice. 

Steve quickly glanced to Mia to acknowledge her presence, and that he understood to keep his voice down not to wake her. 

“Tony asked me to get this for him. He didn't say what it was, and the inventory just says ‘really cool space-stuff’.”

“Didn't Phil rewrite all the inventory lists after he thought Tony had made a mess out of them?”

“Yeah, he did.”

They both exchanged an amused smile. Clint cleared his throat. 

“Nebula’s bear-whatever is running through the ventilation shafts. It has loosened a vent,” he said casually. “I'm just going to check on it. I suspect we’re soon going to do a space jumping-thing again, and better be safe than sorry. I would be in one piece when I get my daughter back.”

He didn't mention seeing Loki crying. It was probably not something that would be spread around too many people. 

“Good thinking,” Steve sighed by blowing air up at his fringe. “I used to be very curious about Asgard, but this isn't going to be pretty.”

They gave each other a agreeing look and nod before parting. Not even Odin would be able to withstand the anger of Natasha and Jane. Clint would gladly stand back and use what ever was left for target practice. 

Cow decided to follow Steve, the puppy confusedly hesitated for a moment but then stuck with Clint, who was his master after all. 

He forgo waiting for the the elevator and took the quicker option of climbing the ladder up to the next level to where the showers were. 

The temperature on this floor was considerably lower, even though the thermostat display on the wall showed settings at normal level. Clint guessed that JARVIS didn't want to raise the temperature without Loki being stable. Even though the ship had fuel and arc-reactor energy to last them over a century, the wires and heating units had their limits of how much energy they could stand. 

There was also something about radiation levels, but Clint had skimmed some parts of the handbook on the orientation. Perhaps that was why he was the fourth pilot, but then again, Hill, Sam, and Nat were more skilled than him. They had all been flying since early teens, in Clint's early teens his flight experience was more of the other meaning of the word, running away. 

He hesitated for a moment outside the shower room, thoughtfully looking down on the sleeping girl strapped to his chest. Perhaps he should have given her to Cap for safety. 

But then again, she was half alien, and Loki was her uncle, sort of.

Clint put his hand on the shower room door, it was ice cold against his palm. He should have brought a jacket, his no-sleeve tank top wouldn't do him any favours. With a deep intake of breath, as if he was going under water, he opened the door and entered. 

“Oh! Hi there, Lokes,” he grinned casually. “I was going to wash some nasty baby stuff off the kid, but I see the hot water isn't working.”

Loki's blood red eyes met his in a mixture of surprise, fear and anger. Oh boy, this was going to be fun…

———————

“Damn it!” Tony rubbed his face and pushed his fingers through his hair. 

“Sir, you really should concentrate on your work,” JARVIS sounded just like the real human Jarvis had done thirty-five years ago when Tony was beginning to understand that there was actually more girls than just irritants that his father snuck into the mansion. 

Wasn't that a good memory, do tell? Twelve years old, sneaking a beer in the upstairs broom closet, and seeing that naked lady walk by. It might be the moment that formed him for the rest of his life. She had had long black hair, like Loki. 

“You know…” said Jemma carefully “…if we can get to Asgard then there ought to be someone there who can help him.”

“Yeah, unless they prefer him this way, or just throw him in the dungeons for the fun of it. I hate to take him to a place where he can't defend himself… Perhaps we should disguise him in some way, you know, dress him up a bit.”

“I'm sure I'm speaking for all females aboard this ship when I say we won't let you anywhere near our closets.”

“Doctor Simmons!” Tony faked being shocked. “I do declare! As if I haven't packed my own costumes.”

Jemma gave him a long look that, Tony chose to interpret as impressed. 

“Would you like to borrow something for your honeymoon?”

“No, thank you,” Jemma shifted in a way Tony had noticed intelligent women who were beginning to get tired of his character shifted. “I'm going to walk over there now.”

He needed to hold back the charm on her for a while. 

“Sure thing,” Tony gave her a tired smile before she left. 

Though she had given him an idea, Tony had just imagined a well placed scarf and sunglasses, but dressing Loki as a woman would make him even less suspicious to the Asgardians. The normal Loki would probably never agree, but this version one might. 

He had to get in Loki’s good side first though. 

In an other situation it might be fun to start a relationship over with a new person. In an other situation where Tony wasn't in deeply love with the old one. 

“He’s still in there,” Jane patted his shoulder. “The Mind Stone only made him forget himself, he can be reminded.”

“Yeah,” Tony smiled at her. “Let's get back to work. Do you want to test out Clint's idea?”

“Let's.”


	29. Chapter 29

“What the fuck was that?” Rocket breathed as Tony and JARVIS finally managed to turn off the random alarms that had simultaneously erupted around the ship. 

Rocket had climbed up on his shoulders and had been sitting there as a bored toddler for about ten minutes pointing out things that he thought Tony did wrong. He was beginning to get a bit heavy, but it wasn't yet too bad. Tony had a suspicion the beast was testing him 

The sudden noise had made the genetically altered raccoon grab hold of Tony's left ear with a clawed little freaky hand. 

“I believe that Hulk’s first stone has been passed, sir.”

“Shit,” Tony shivered. “Poor Bruce...” 

Tony made a mental note to get a medical as soon as possible, he wouldn't want to end up in the same situation. 

“You can let go now,” he told Rocket who seemed to still be on high alert. “I already had my ear pierced once, and it's not a fashion statement I would like to repeat.”

Rocket let go of the ear and huffed. He didn't move from his place on Tony's shoulders though, he had obviously made himself comfortable. 

“You had an earring?” asked Jemma. 

“I was an eighties’ millionaire teenager who loved metal music, building my own motocross bikes, and budding addiction habits. What do you think?”

“I thought you went to MIT in the eighties?”

“Yeah,” Tony shrugged. “But after my second doctorate they more or less left me alone to tinker. That's where I built Dummy 1.0.”

There was a short silent pause, then Rocket opened his mouth. 

“I have no fuckin’ idea what you just said.”

Tony laughed. 

“Yes, but…” Leo cleared his throat. “…why was there a radiation spike?”

Leo had been set doing system checks on the ship. They all trusted JARVIS to give them the right numbers, but with the dangerous jump they had before them it didn't hurt to check twice, or thrice, or just continuously. 

“Dr Kingsley is using an isotope to break apart the stones so that they will fit through the urethra,” answered JARVIS. 

“I didn't need to know that,” Tony fought the urge to protectively grab hold of his genitalia. 

“Not that,” Leo also looked uncomfortable while the girls smirked. “This one.”

He pointed to something that looked like ordinary background noise. Tony walked over to look closer. Jane and Jemma didn't move away from the anti-matter, but they seemed interested as well. 

“Analysing…” JARVIS went quiet for a heartbeat. “It’s Dr. Banner’s gallstones, like the rest of his cells, they're slightly radioactive.”

“Good old Bruce,” Tony laughed and shook his head. “Just when you think you know a guy, he pisses out a nuclear power plant.”

“I know a guy like that,” said Rocket putting his elbows on the to of Tony's head. “We could use his piss to clean hobchocks of starshields. Drew them right off. Like fucking splat!”

Tony had no idea what that meant, but he was sure if he did know, he would have thought it was disgusting. 

“Just tell Kingsley to be careful when he disposes of it.”

“No,” interjected Jemma. “Tell him to put it in a container, they might be interesting to study.”

Everyone turned to look at her. 

“…I’m a biologist?” She shifted nervously. 

“Right,” Tony rubbed his hands together and glanced up to his hairline where he could see the underside of Rocket’s snout. “Alright, I need to trade off with Hill on the Bridge before she uses her secret agent skills to murder me. You want me to show you the co-pilot seat, Ziggy Stardust?”

Rocket growled. 

“You don't know this, but Quill stopped calling me that name after I bit his leg.” He jumped off Tony’s shoulders, landing effortlessly on the floor. “Ask him to see the scar some time, some of my best work.”

The beast smiled up at him with sharp teeth. He was tall enough to give Tony’s crotch a good head butt. Tony took a precocious step back. 

“Point taken, but while I'm sure Quill taking his trousers off would be entertaining, I'm having some boyfriend troubles at the moment, and I don't think it would help. By the way, JARVIS? Is he sleeping?”

“Loki is currently in the shower with Agent Barton. They have asked for privacy, so my monitoring is currently offline.”

“Right…” Tony cleared his throat. “Rocky, my furry friend, do you mind if I wash up a bit before we go to the Bridge?”

“Fine, I'll indulge your paranoia, as long as my fur don't get wet, I got a good grooming goin’ on.”

 

—————————

“…and all I really wanted was a sister,” pouted Nebula as she embarrassedly looked down at her one blue hand and one artificial clutched in Gamora’s both green and real. 

“That's all I wanted too,” Gamora’s voice was straining not to crack. “But you were always fighting me.”

“You always won,” Nebula met her tear filled eyes with her own that were no longer capable of crying. 

“Thanos wouldn't accept anything else…”

“You were always father’s favourite. Every time I lost he replaced something on me, or in me, to make me…” she took a restrained breath. 

Thor watched her loosen her artificial hand from Gamora’s grip, without letting the other go, and touching her face implant. He knew what she was thinking because both he and Liki had had the same dynamic most of their lives, though he being too self-obsessed to notice it. 

_A monster._

“No,” Gamora finally let some of her tears roll down her sharp cheekbones, and put one hand on Nebula’s cheek herself to stroke it. “Thanos is not our father, Nebula. He killed our fathers, he took us, abused us to shape us into killers, and pitching us against each other…” she breathed in through a slightly stuffy nose and stroked Nebula’s cheek with her thumb. “But we are still sisters. You _are_ my sister.”

Nebula finally let go of her emotions and fell into Gamora’s arms. They hugged and began whispering affections and apologies too low for Thor to hear. He had to wipe a tear from his own eye before turning away. 

“I am Groot,” said Groot in a tone wise as a Norn

Fendral was an absolute mess, drying his face on his sleeve. 

“I- I am so-rry,” he sobbed to Thor. 

Thor sighed deeply and patted his shoulder in a gesture that held the emotion of possible future forgiveness but not yet. He had to see how Jane handled it first.

“By the gods,” he took a deep breath and straightened his posture. “Isn't it time for food? I'm feeling ravenous.”

At that moment several alarms and lights went off. Everyone jumped. Thor got to his feet and impulsively searched for his hammer. He had time to realise his hand folded around nothing before the alarms stopped. The momentarily forgotten feeling off loss came back to him. 

Everyone else, except for Groot, had also stood up, ready to fight. 

“There isn't any danger,” told the disembodied JARVIS told them from the ceiling. “The ship’s instruments accidentally responded to Hulk’s cry of pain and the radiation accompanying it.”

“Oh,” Thor relaxed, though still a bit disappointed. 

“Did you feel that?” asked Gamora slightly shifting her stance. 

“Yes,” Nebula did the same. “We are shifting course.”

The sisters were still holding hands, seemingly not want to let go of one another. 

“Have they found a way to get the ship to Asgard?”

“Yes, but it will need some work.”

Gamora frowned. 

“The course change probably means that we'll miss our meet up with Drax. We need to contact him. Where is Quill?”

“Starlord is currently giving counselling to Roman, Ms. Gamora.”

“Well that's a mosh-bag ready to break.”

Thor pretended that he was up to date with the latest slang phrases and nodded in solemn agreement. He had a feeling that it meant something bad. 

“I'm going to find Jane and see if she will dine with me. Perhaps you should find a way to contact Master Drax and redirect him to a new meeting point?”

“Yes,” Gamora nodded and turned to Nebula. “You go eat. We’ll meet up and talk later.”

They hugged, holding on a bit longer than necessary. 

“I will find my husband,” Nebula straightened her back and steeled her face. “I owe him some apologies.”

They started to move towards the exit. 

“What about me?” Fendral asked carefully, adding a subservient “My Prince?”

“You may eat as well,” Thor gave him a stern look. “But out of the way of the ladies, I will not guarantee your safety, nor my protection if you encounter them.”

“I am Groot,” said Groot and gestured that he would be Fendral’s guard. 

Fendral seemed a bit uncomfortable over this, though he deserved much more than uncomfort. 

——————

Steve left the Conservatory. He had done a detour to let Cow relive himself in the sand trap that was assigned for such things. He had heard that the sand was regularly and automatically filtered to remove smells, and recycle waste products to fertilisers. Still, though it was the closest you could get to a beach on the ship, he wouldn't want to spend more time than necessary on the grainy surface. 

Cow seemed content, though, as the animal trotted next to him. The animal had taken well to living in space, but growing up as a stay on the backstreets of Buenos Aires would probably harden any creature to its environment. The dog was as happy as he had been anytime in his life. Steve smiled down at him. 

When the alarms hit Cow didn't howl and hide as probably any other dog would have. Instead he was even faster than Steve to react, and Steve was quite fast being Captain America and all. 

_Former Captain America_ he corrected himself as he followed the running dog down the corridor. He would most likely never see America again. Not that he minded that much, but he really needed to find a new name for himself. ‘Cap’ was good enough for a nickname, but not not for a hero. 

Did he even want to continue being a hero? 

The thought hit him so unexpectedly that he didn't notice the alarms being turned off, he just kept running after the animal. 

What else could he do? Be an artist, as was his childhood dream before finding out about the Nazis? But who knew what counted as art out here? Was it within his talents and reach? 

He could become pioneer farmer on a new planet. He smirked at the thought. Mostly because he tried to imagine Bucky in the role as a farmer’s wife. 

Perhaps it would be nice for a while, before the repetitive boredom set in. The was also a possibility that they would be overtaken by xenomorphs. Steve had seen all the the ‘Alien’- and ‘Predator’-movies several times and wasn't keen on finding out if there were such things for real. 

He stopped running when Cow started jumping and barking at a closed door. Unexpectedly the door opened automatically and the dog almost somersaulted inside by his own momentum. 

Kingsy’s office was empty, so were the surgery room on the right and the Freeze Machine room on the left. The recovery straight ahead was another thing. 

The door was closed but the view through the windows was enough to make Steve question why he ever left Earth in the first place. 

All the beds had been pushed aside to make room for Hulk on the floor. A very naked Hulk that is. 

Steve had never really thought of Hulk’s genitalia other than in passing and in context of how Bruce always seemed to have stretchy pants on. He had never wanted to see for himself what it looked like. 

It was hard to read the faces of the three other people in the room. Kingsley’s was as usual covered in bandages, Nat had the professional face of someone focusing on her work, and Darcy, who had seen the sight before, was expressing mostly gentility and care as she tried to keep Hulk calm. 

Steve was just about to leave when Kingsley caught sight of him. 

“Cap!” he called and hurried over to the door. 

Cow took no prisoners as he rushed to his master’s big green head and began licking it like it was a melting icicle. 

“I was just about to call someone to help hold him down. The ladies and I have done it so far but I fear this will be a doozie.”

Damn Steve’s bulking strong muscles.

“Sure,” he said. “Whatever I can do to help.”

“Take hold of his right thigh,” Kingsley took up a machine tat looked like a cross between a ray-gun and a small vacuum cleaner. “And try keeping it ninety degrees from his torso, I need to get in with the radiation at a good angle.”

Steve took hold of the muscular green thigh and tried focusing his mind on punching nazis, and not in what was about fifteen centimetres from his face. 

He thought he heard the sound of distinctive female giggles, but decided it was just his imagination. 

——————

 

“So…” 

Loki shifted his seat on the icy floor, trying to make sense of what he had been told. He was still in his strange blue form, apparently it was called a ‘Frostgiant’. He thought the name rather poetic, not scary at all. 

“So nobody thinks I'm am a monster?”

“Nobody who counts anyway,” the human named Clint Barton assured him. “And if they do they’d be in big trouble with the rest of us.”

It was good to hear. He seemed to have more friends aboard than the baby and the robot. Not that his two first friends meant anything less than that. The baby was also his niece, and family was always good to have around close, even if they were not blood. 

Clint was holding the furry creature that Loki found in the ventilation against the baby carrier on his chest. The creature seemed content to share its warmth with the child in the cold room. Clint himself didn't seem to be as bothered by the chill, but he still had his fingers buried in the soft long fur. 

Loki didn't feel the cold in this form. 

“And I don't like to be touched?” He held up his hands before him, ice-blue with sharp black nails. “That's why Tony moved away from me, even though we are supposed to be lovers?”

“Yes,” the man frowned. “There’s seem to be something wrong with that.”

He held out his hand towards him, after a brief hesitation Loki took it. 

The hand was warm. Calloused, but still soft. 

“You got almost as cold hands as my wife's feet. How does it feel? Any repulsion?” 

“No…” 

Loki examined the handshake, turning it in different angles and readjusting the grip. It didn't feel strange at all, except for he was holding hands with a handsome almost complete stranger, who was married at that. 

Suddenly alarms went off, scaring Loki enough to cry out and let go of Clint. The child began to cry, the dog began to bark, and the furry creature almost copied the alarms themselves. Loki noticed that Clint’s first gut reaction was to protect the baby. 

The noise only lasted for a few seconds before it turned off. 

As Loki looked around he noticed himself in the mirror. He had gone back to the pale pinkish skin and green eyes. His nails were short, nicely rounded, and clear. His left side hurt like it was on fire. He called out in pain, but was overpowered by the noice of all the showers unfreezing and cascades of water poured all over the room. 

The baby was so surprised that she stopped screaming. The young dog started to playfully chase the fountains of water, while the furry creature seemed to melt in to a scrawny animal in a puddle of wet fur. 

“Please stand by,” said a soft and rehearsed voice from the ceiling. “A repairbot has been sent to your location. If you would be so kind stay inside the room so that all excess water can be probably recycle-” 

The voice stopped almost abruptly as it had been turned off. 

“That felt weird,” said the same voice but in a more casual tone. “I thought I turned off the automatic emergency response.”

“Hey, Jarv!” called Clint as he spat water. “Can you do anything about this? Before we drown preferably!”

“I'm so sorry, Agent Barton. This is sadly a hardware problem due to frost damage. I have sent Butterfingers to manually turn off the waterline. As soon as it is off I can turn on the heaters to evaporate the water.”

Loki felt terrible. He had damaged the ship. They weren't going to be happy with him now. He wondered how much trouble he was in. 

The little girl started to cry again. 

“Aw,” Clint sighed. “The diaper is really absorbent. She’s all soaked through. Jane’ll kill me if she gets sick. Here, Loki, hold her, I need to take of this stupid thing.”

Loki gently took the child almost as the same time the water stopped pouring, the girl didn't stop crying though. He did his best to hide his pain and the grimace accompanying it as small feet kicked him in his side. 

Clint didn't seem to have any luck getting out of the carrier, finally he just pulled everything over his head and dropped it on the wet floor, shirt and all. He had a very good body, Loki confessed to himself. Nice and softly rounded about the belly, the rest was muscle. Loki didn't feel very attracted to it, but it was nice to look at. 

They worked together to relive the girl of the heavy diaper, the less it was said about what was in it besides water was better. Needless to say it was quickly disposed of. 

“Loki,” said Clint. “You're bleeding.”


	30. Chapter 30

Perhaps the best decision Tony ever made wasn't giving Thor’s infant girl to a genetically engineered raccoon, but at the moment he hadn't been of sound mind. 

He had entered the shower room not entirely certain of what he would find, and wasn't disappointed. Coincidentally, he was most certainly wasn't certain what he had found. 

Clint was bare-breasted, that alone was slightly disturbing. Tony hadn't known about the tattoo of a big hawk, its wings stretched like angel wings, on his back. 

What was even more disturbing was that as soon as Clint saw Tony he handed him a naked baby. Before any explanations could be made, and Tony's total panic could set in because he was holding frickin’ baby, the heater fans started and drowned out all other sounds in the room. 

The third disturbing thing was seeing Loki sitting on the floor, strands of hair plastered wetly to his face and blood on his shirt, looking like he had been stabbed in the gut with a giant icicle that since melted. 

The moment before Tony handed a defenceless infant to a hybrid predator from outer space was the moment when Clint bent down and took Loki, bridal style, in his arms. Tony only reacted with intense worry and a huge shot of adrenaline. He handed the baby to Rocket and followed Clint out the door heading for the Med-bay. 

It wasn't until Loki had been safely inside the Freeze Machine for about ten minutes that Tony even vaguely began to remember the little girl. By then he was far busy with other work than to do more than to ask JARVIS for an update. 

“Young miss Thorsdottir is comfortably asleep, Sir.”

“Where?”

“In Engineering, Sir.”

“Well, that's fine, I guess.”

Tony went back to study the automatic log for mentions of their two Infinity Stones. He needed _his_ Loki back, and the Stones was the way to do it. The question was how.

The Reality Stone had changed their reality in more ways than Nat’s body, evidenced by the puppy. Natasha’s mind hadn't been changed though. That was because of the Mind Stone had been at play then as well. 

Was it possible that Loki’s, his Loki’s, mind was in another body in an other reality? But how could that work without the Reality Stone?

And what about Ronan’s memory loss? And the emissions from the dying star? And the antimatter? And the change to Loki’s sensitivities? 

Tony wrecked his head and stared at the numbers and curves until he thought he would go even madder than he already was. He frustratingly banged his head against his working table, though still conscious of any delicate machinery that was on the tabletop. 

“I came to beat you up for making me work three and a half shifts in a row,” said a voice from behind him. “But I see you're doing a good job doing that by yourself.”

“Maria!” Tony looked up at the scary woman looming over him. “I'm really sorry.”

“You ought to be,” she gave him a harsh look. “There are two bereaved patents at the helm right now. As your former personnel manager, it’s nothing that I would advise.”

So Nat and Clint were on the Bridge, they wouldn't have been Tony's first options either. At least they were rested, which was more than he could say for Hill. If she hadn't gone to tare Tony a new one, she'd probably already be using a plate full of food as a pillow. 

She massaged the bridge of her nose to loosen som apparent tension   
“Aren't you supposed to get us to Asgard?” she seemed to relax, her ass-kicking urges was leaving her posture. “I'm sure they could help Loki with what's wrong with him.”

“Yeah,” Tony sighed deeply. “If they don't throw him in the dungeons under a snake dripping venom into his eyes. Or by helping us they find out we have two Infinity Stones, take them from us. Then they’ll have three of those bastards, and I'm not keen to find out what a hoard of megalomaniac space-vikings can do with that.”

“And you're a megalomaniac with two…” she smirked “…so you would know.”

“Yeah,” he smirked back. “Anyway, Jane is working on the route to Asgard. I can't do anything mechanical without the astrophysical research, and at this level of precision I’ll better leave it to the experts.”

“I guess you're right,” Hill yawned and stretched. “I'm going to my room to sleep, but don't think you're out of the wood, Stark. I'm only resting so I can punch you harder.”

“Looking forward to it.”

The exchanged a surprisingly friendly smile before she left. 

Tony turned back to his screens. 

He had wanted to find out the mystery of Loki for himself, working though the man’s complex and beautiful mind and body. Now, it was all wrong. The path he had planned and the life he had expected wouldn't be if he didn't find the man he loved. 

———

Natasha leaned back in the First Pilot seat. Her eyes were on the enhanced front window that had most of its attributes and functions borrowed from the Star Trek ships. She wondered, in a quick passing thought, if Tony had payed royalties to the Gene Roddenberry estate to get access to the more finer points of the construction. 

The screen was showing nothing but space, it was both relaxing and infuriating at the same time. 

“How're you holding up?” asked Clint from her right. 

He was also looking at the screen ahead but, as the copilot, also kept an eye on the current readouts if interest that JARVIS provided him with. JARVIS, in his turn, reacted to both Nat’s and Clint’s human reactions to process the operations of the ship accordingly. The Heidrun really was one large perfect cooperation between man and machine. 

“Fine. Surprisingly enough, holding on to Bruce while he’s naked wasn't the great experience that I once thought it would be.”

“I could have told you that, darling.”

Nat gave him a teasing glance, she really had had all the luck that was denied her previously in life when she had met Clint Barton. She rubbed her flat stomach.

Her body was a complete paradox, as was her relationship to her child. She could remember being pregnant and Pumpkin moving inside her. But her body didn't remember, it hadn't gained the extra weight, gotten stretch marks, been cut open, or died. 

Clint reached out his hand to her. She took it, bit awkwardly considering the slight angle and distance between their chairs, but it was comforting nonetheless. 

“It's fine,” he said. 

“Yeah,” she squeezed his hand back. “Worst case-scenario, they have left her in an orphanage back on Earth.”

“Yeah…” he breathed.

She didn't mention that the real worst case-scenario was Pumpkin, being newborn and not yet being properly vaccinated… Natasha pushed away the thought as she had learned to push away so many other in her non-chosen profession. She comforted herself with the thought that she, also without enhanced immunity, had been on the Asgardian ship without any consequences. 

She squeezed Clint’s hand briefly again for strength before letting it go and adapting to her normal noncommittal facial expression. 

“Tell me about Loki,” she asked him. 

“Everything is gone,” Clint seemed to appreciate the change of subject. “Blank slate, even his bodily reactions, except for the Frost Giant thing, which is strange. He seems to be taken with Tony, though I can't tell if it's real emotion, or if he only reacts on being told they are lovers.”

“Is he a threat?” 

Natasha wasn't the one to beat around the bush. 

“I don't think so…” he contemplated it for a moment. “Perhaps if provoked, or if he overestimates his own powers. He actually seems like a genuinely gentle person.”

“Perhaps,” she tightened her lips. “I don't want to do racial profiling, and I really learned to like him, but his primal instincts are Frost Giant. Look what he did to the shower room.”

“That was when he was sad and depressed. When he felt threatened he took human form, or Asgardian. I don't know what it means, but it should mean something.”

Natasha agreed with him, and she was to say as much when she was interrupted by a somewhat unfamiliar signal. It was the first time she had heard it since Tony had given her her spaceship-diving lessons. She exchanged a look with Clint, who seemed as surprised as her. 

“We are being hailed,” reported JARVIS. 

“Who is it?”

“I believe it's one of the ships that we joined admiring the imploding star. They seemed to have matched our course alterations.”

“And they want to talk to us?” asked Clint 

“They are also scanning us. Shall I put it on the screen, Ms. Romanoff?”

“Do so,” Natasha shifted in her seat to look more authoritative than the half-slacked position she had been in. 

The big screen switched from a view of infinite space to that of a pale-skinned man, with dark eyes and white hair, dressed in something that could be compared to a red and gold uniform. By his face Natasha wanted to say he was in his mid-forties, but who knew out here? 

She cleared her throat. 

“This is the ship Heidrun of Earth, I'm Romanoff. How can we be of assistance?”

“Greetings,” the man made a single nod without looking down. “I am Teamleader Gritt of the Independency Science Ship Ivtegrut. Are you the commander?”

“No,” Natasha answered calmly. “But I speak for him.”

“Very well…” 

Gritt quickly, perhaps even unnoticeable to the untrained eye, looked hesitantly at something, or someone, behind his screen. Natasha’s instincts immediately kicked in. She noticed in the corner of her eye Clint writing something on a holographic keyboard on his consul. 

A text appeared on her workstation, _He’s full of shit._ She agreed. 

“We were recoding the Creation, and we noticed you were too.”

“What a coincidence,” Natasha didn't feel like being polite, actually the opposite. 

“Yes, but you, as well as the Asgardian ship you were with, left before it's completion.”

“Something urgent came up,” Nat calmly pretended to adjust some of the dials on the steering board, she noticed Clint giving her an amused condescending look. “What’s that to you?”

The Teamleader shifted. 

“We noticed an irregularity in our recordings of the phenomenon, it seemed to correspond with your ship.”

“I didn't notice anything, but then again, I had an emergency.”

“Well, there was one…” The pale man’s ears shifted in soft purple, a possible sign of irritation in his species. “From the Creation to your ship…”

Loki's amnesiac magical breakdown had apparently had an outside audience…

“Really?”

“Yes. Then there was another, similar, emission from the Asgardian ship _after_ you boarded it.”

…as well as the baby-napping by Tesseract. 

“You don't say?”

“Yes,” he signed one of his crewmen offscreen. 

Two green diagrams, appeared on the screen. Both were far over Natasha’s scientific understanding and her translator’s capabilities, Tony would probably piss his pants if he saw them. She looked at them as if he had showed her his kid’s drawings from kindergarten, if he was disappointed he didn't show it. 

“We would like to have an exchange of information...”

Nat didn't have time for this. She had personal crises to go through, a ship to be symbiotic with, and several ass-kickings of space vikings to plan. 

“Our science officer is really busy at the moment, but if you leave your contact…”

“ _Third Pilot_ ,” the words were patient but sounded like an insult. “Perhaps I didn't make myself clear. Under the statute of Third Quadrant, we _would_ like an exchange of information.”

“Sorry,” Natasha gave him a fake smile. “That’s not our quadrant.”

She made a waive that JARVIS correctly interpreted as a sign to hang up the line. They had time to see the man look very purple and angry. 

“What is our quadrant?” asked Clint. 

“I have no idea,” Nat checked their course. “But if they think we're going to tell them about the antimatter and the Infinity Stones, they are scanning up the wrong spaceship.”

Clint chuckled.

“JARVIS?” Nat leaned back in her seat. ”Did you relay that to Tony and Jane?”

“Of course, Ms. Romanov. I also attached the information that I obtained by entering their computers through the link they created by giving us the images.”

The images in question were now being analysed and broken down in numbers on several monitors. 

—————

Tony walked through the corridor towards the Med-bay. He was so tired that he didn't even have the capacity to calculate how long he had been awake. Still, he had to look in on Bruce and Loki before finding his way to bed. Perhaps he should bypass the kitchen as well, his stomach was rearing with a subtle pain. 

He suddenly paused, thought for a moment, and backed up two steps to look down the corridor he just passed. 

Yes, he had seen that right. 

Ronan had Peter Quill pressed up to the wall, they were kissing each other frantically. Neither of them had shirts on, and both had roaming hands. It looked quite interesting. For a moment Tony considered if he should stay and watch, but decided against it.

There were always the security tapes. 

He walked on. 

“JARVIS, redirect the walkways to give them some privacy.”

“Yes, sir.”

Tony was glad that the two of them had gotten together, they seemed nice for each other. It made him think about his own resolution with Loki. 

He had decided to ask the Asgardians for assistance, and if they even tried to harm or cage Loki Tony would make them bloodily regret it. He hadn't been able to come up with a solution to fix Loki's mind, but he had been able to come up with a weapon powerful enough to force others to come up with one. Hopefully that was the second best thing. 

As he passed by another corridor a very beautiful woman with neon-pink skin and purple hair was walking towards him. She was dressed in a short white dress that showed off her lovely bare legs and feet. 

“Oh,” she smiled in greeting. “Hello, Commander. I’m sorry for sleeping so long, I was so very tired.”

Her name was Careet, he remembered, Clint and Darcy’s friend. 

“No worries,” he smiled back, gesturing her to walk with him, away from the necking couple. “You deserved a rest.”

Most people aboard deserved a rest, even he. 

“I'm ready to be put to work now, Commander,” she continued smiling, a perfect hostess-smile if he ever saw one. “I would like to work for my keep.”

“The cooking-, cleaning-, and washing rotations always needs an extra hand,” Tony said with any bad conscience that he did neither of those things. “Do you have any special skills? Mechanics? Biology? Gardening? Medicine?”

“Bartending.”

“A wonderful skill,” Tony nodded approvingly. “Anything else?”

“Im sorry, Commander,” she said apologetically. “I never did… Because of… my appearance I was placed in the High Class lounges…”

“So you know who's who of the people with power. You know who they are, what they talk about, the people they meet, their partners, and affairs, what drinks they like.”

“Yes…?”

“You are more valuable than you think,” Tony patted her back. “Trust me, I used to be one of those kind of people, and if any of the waiting staff had come out about me… Let's just say that I would have had to leave Earth much sooner.”

“Why didn't they?”

Tony winked and smiled at her. 

“Let's just say I'm a very good tipper.”

“Oh.”  
 _  
That_ really felt like a lifetime ago, another life actually.

“It would actually be very helpful to us who know the inner workings of the upper classes. We’re hopefully not going to hang out with pirates all the time.”

“Yes, Commander.”

It felt quite awesome to be addressed as ‘commander’, but he knew that for equality’s sake he should ask her to call him Tony. He was just about to do so when they entered the Med Bay, and then he forgot. 

Steve was sitting on a chair, blanket around his shoulders, steaming cup of tea in his hands, and Darcy gently massaging his back. The blond man’s blue eyes were staring unfocused into the air, not even acknowledging Tony and Careet as they entered. 

Darcy smiled at them. 

“Hi guys!” she said. “Bruce is back to human and sleeping. Everything went well.”

The door to the recovery room was closed, behind the window the room was dark. 

“Do you need Kingsley?” Darcy asked. “He's dropping off the kidney stones to Jemma, apparently she wanted to look at them.”

“Yeah…” Tony felt a bit disgusted. “I was just going to look in on Loki before going to bed. What's up with Cap?”

“I don't wanna talk about it,” said Steve dully. 

“He had a bit of a ‘close encounter’ with Bruce’s, or rather _Hulk’s_ , engorged…”

“I do _not_ want to talk about it!”

“Sure thing,” smirked Tony. 

“And don't tell Bucky.”

Darcy stifled a laugh and continued massaging his back, probably for no other reason than to feel his muscles under the blanket. Careet walked over to her while Tony headed for the Freeze Machine. 

The machine hummed. Loki's face was visible in the frosted window. He looked like a cross between Sleeping Beauty, Snow White, and Elsa all rolled into one man. Tony wondered when his reference points had shifted from Star Trek to Disney movies. 

“Don't worry, Babe,” he touched the machine. “I'll fix this.”

Loki didn't react, being asleep and frozen. 

“Sir,” JARVIS interrupted the tender moment. “We seem to be under attack from scientists, they seem quite determined.”

“Great,” Tony took a breath. “Careet?”

“Yes, Commander?” the pink lady appeared in the doorway. 

“Let me show you the distillery, I need a drink.”


	31. Chapter 31

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm sorry about the irregularity of the posting of chapters. Have patience with me. I will finish this, don't worry. I think I know how this story is going to conclude.

He was running. Through a forrest. But the branches weren't of trees, they were arms and hands reaching out for him. Trying to touch him. Grab him. Hold him down. Restrain him…

But he ran. 

Ducking, jumping, avoiding. _Don't touch me!_

Both from a distance and from close behind his own shoulder he could see himself running, his black hair, long like a bridal trail, or a dark river, trailing after him. 

The darkness of his hair mixed with the even darker blood dripping down his legs from his gut, making the forest floor even wetter and more slippery under his bare scared feet. The hands of the trees reaching for him were dripping similar slow ooze down to the ground, and on to his already too stained skin. 

The dark river was flowing between the trees behind him, hunting him, wanting to drown him in ignorance. It was a vast forgetful darkness attached to the back of his head, following him with the growls of wolves and the eternal falling through endless space…

Somehow a very familiar feeling. 

But there, in the corner of his eye, a flicker of green light. _magic_

Loki _it was his his name_ turned, almost falling on the slippery ground, putting his hand on the dirty grit to push himself forward and on to his feet. He quickly got traction and continued his run. 

Wisps of green magic led him on, some were flairs, some were specks. He trusted them, they were his, his own, they would ever led him astray because they were a part of his soul. He had put them there himself if ever he should be lost and needing a way home. 

There, up ahead. A tree. 

This tree was different from the others. Lighter, somehow. 

As he came closer he noticed it was on fire, but from the inside. A perfect circle of clear blue light beckoned him kindly forward as a safe warm lighthouse haven calling to a sinking ship. 

He must reach the light before the river swallowed him, or he would be lost forever. 

The tree reached out for him, _come to me, babe, I got you_ and Loki grabbed on to its strong branches with the only thought of never letting it go. 

———————

“Try it again.”

“It is no use, My Love” Thor looked forlornly to the shaft of Mjölner that Jane offered to him. “I must prove myself worthy to gain its trust back.”

They were standing in the corridor outside the laboratory. There was a big dent in the metal floor between them where Mjölner had fallen after Thor hadn't been able to hold on to it. It had been a disappointment for both of them. 

Jane frowned and looked at the hammer. It had brought her more trouble than it was worth. 

“How would do you do that? Last time you had to selflessly put yourself in mortal danger.”

“I'm not mortal.”

“Yeah,” she shifted her stance. “And it's a bit hard to be selfless if you are doing it on purpose… I just…” she paused in frustration. “I just don't understand why I can't..”

Thor put his hand under her chin and tilted it up so their eyes met, she had tears in hers, he smiled sadly. 

“Mjölner protects you going through space, but it takes practice, and an Asgardian warrior’s constitution. Also, the last leg of the journey would still need to be approved by Heimdahl. Even with Mjölner, I'm not certain he would let you in. 

“Wouldn't he know? I thought he was all-seeing?”

“That is an archaic phrasing,” Thor shook his head. “Before even we knew there was a universe, let alone a multiverse. Heimdahl can only see within the nine realms, and only that he chooses to turn his eye to.”

They stood silently for a moment. Both knowing that if Mjölner was still in Thor’s favour he would already be on Asgard with their son. Both also knew the reason the hammer had left him was that he hadn't been reactive enough when the child had been taken. 

“Try it again,” Jane held out the hammer. 

It fell out of Thor's grip, as he knew it would, further denting Tony Stark’s spacecraft. 

If Thor wasn't worthy, there was a possibility that he still hesitated to go and get the children. Jane tried go ignore the pressing thought. 

“Doctor Foster?” JARVIS said from above. “Your presence is required on the Bridge.”

“I'm on my way,” she sighed. “Where's Mia?”

“Your daughter is sleeping in Engineering.”

“What's she doing down there?” she frowned. “Who's watching her?”

“Rocket, Dr. Foster.”

A surge of mixed emotions and thoughts ran through her. Most of them related to _‘a dingo ate my baby’,_ but she knew that was both illogical and down right idiotic. Still, she felt a painful tightness over her chest. It worried her for a moment before she identified the pain. 

“Thor,” she looked up at the taller man who was looking forlornly of the hammer on the floor. “Could you bring Mia to me on the Bridge? She needs feeding, and my milk is running over.”

“Of course, my love,” he bent down and kissed her left jaw under her ear, it felt nice. “Go on, I will be there momentarily.”

Jane watched him leave. With a sigh she picked up Mjölner and started walking towards the elevator. 

———————

“What do they want?” asked Steve. 

He had just arrived to the Bridge, having quickly collected himself from his slight catatonic state in the Med Bay. He was a soldier, and a giant green dick in the face wasn't going to keep him down for long. Steve only wished that Bucky never found out. 

He had shared the elevator up with Jane, she didn't seem to in a talkative mood. She had held the hammer like a small child in her arms. 

“The antimatter,” Clint answered. “They found it on their scans. But probably the Stones as well, they also got a whiff of the Tesseract when it was here. Then I wouldn't be surprised if they wanted to kidnap our entire science stab.”

“So… they are Science Pirates?” Steve frowned.

“It's understandable,” Jane moved forward towards the instruments displaying their own scan of the enemy ship. “It's just a few steps from corporate espionage and patent stealing.”

“Does Tony know about this?”

“Yup,” Clint adjusted some buttons on his module. “He messaged that he and Careet are right on top of solving something out.”

“Careet?” Steve looked over at the archer. “The pretty pink alien lady?”  
_  
“Men,”_ muttered Jane under her breath. 

“Don't be so hasty judging her!” Clint raised his voice. “She's not that kind of girl.”

“And what kinda girl of would that be?” asked Natasha, then she shook her head. “Careet can be any kind of girl she wants, it's Tony’s kind of boy I'm worried about. Without Loki holding him back, who knows what he's up to.”

“JARVIS?” asked Steve. “Where is Tony?”

“Sir is unavailable at the moment, and his privacy is turned on.”

“Perhaps they're just drinking,” Clint adjusted in his seat. “She _is_ a bartender, you know.”

Nobody seemed to believe him, least of all himself. Steve straightened up, settling into his full soldier mode. 

“Let’s give _the commander_ our benefit of doubt. How far to the planet?”

“Two to three days at calculated speeds,” said Jane. “And that's not including any extra time it's going to construct a way to use the antimatter to break the dimensional barrier and create a wormhole.”

He pointed to the communications. 

“Call on the other ship.”

“Go ahead,” Natasha motioned. 

“This is Steven Rogers, Second In Command of the Earth ship Heidrun. Why are you showing aggression towards us?”

The screen showed a person of undistinguishable gender, dark blue skin, and light blue hair. They looked intelligent and determined. 

“In the name of the Third Quadrant accordance it is you who are showing aggression by not cooperating with the scientific treaty laws set down by…”

“What quadrant is this?” Steve asked Clint. 

“How the fuck should I know? It all sounds bullshit to me.”

“If you don't cooperate we will be forced to take action to get the information that we want. Our scans have discovered no more than seven different unidentifiable sources of energy on your ship.”

Steve noticed Jane unconsciously counting on her fingers beside him, she only seem to come up with five. The two Stones, the antimatter, the arc accelerator… Steve was stumped at four. 

“Look…” He squared his shoulders. “We have not agreed to any treaty, or agreement, in any quadrant. We are of the opinion that the amount of science and technology that we share should be dependent on the amount of trust we have between us.”

“This is outrageous!” An other alien entered on the screen, he looked more like the one that Nat and Clint had described to him earlier. “Surrender, or we will open fire.”

His face was completely purple. 

At that moment the elevator doors opened and Thor exited. He had Rocket on his left shoulder and was pushing some kind of floating pram. 

”Look Jane, my love!” He called out in his most boisterous tone. “Master Rocket had provided us with a most wondrous gift!”

Everyone turned to look at the floating pram. The baby Mia was nicely prodded up in a half-sitting position. She was awake and seemed fairly happy. The furry cat creature was sitting in the place designed for her brother. 

“Oh shit…” Rocket was the only one looking at the screen. “Romanoff?”

“Yes?” Nat answered. 

“Press the button.” The raccoon sounded so serious that Steve stiffened. 

There was only one button on the Bridge that could be referred to as _the_ button’, the Arc Accelerator on-switch. How Rocket even knew about it was a question in itself, but Steve knew that Rocket had been helping the scientists in the lab, Tony must have told him. 

This was the level of trust Steve had mentioned before. Rocket was a fairly new acquaintance, but he was trustworthy enough to get almost complete access to Heidrun’s technology (apart from the heavy weaponry, a ban that both Quill and Gamora had requested separately and on different occasions). Rocket was to be trusted and therefore no debate was necessary. 

It only took one second, Steve had barely began his short affirmative nod to Natasha’s questioning glance before she flipped the switch. 

Heidrun seemed to take a deep breath as the haul pressed together for the jump. Steve could only hope and pray that a course was set in that wouldn't crash them into a planet or any debris. As a feeling of momentum and zero-gravity sat in Steve thought of Bucky and the meal they had started to make together. He hoped there was food left for him. 

——————-

“Brace for acceleration,” said JARVIS from every speaker around the ship

————

Peter and Ronan didn't notice anything, they were far too busy with creating their own form of zero gravity. 

————

Thanks to their quick reflexes Bucky, Fendral, and Tein managed to save the food before it became airborne enough to spoil. They weren't as speedy with the water in their glasses, it floated up like droplet baubles around them. Groot looked on from his seat on the floor, unimpressed. 

With a sigh he reached out his hand and extended some of his roots to catch the floating water. Bucky got the impression that it wasn't the first time it had happened. It was a neat trick, especially if they had been in a smaller spacecraft where machinery were in danger of short circuiting.

“I am Groot,” shrugged Groot as he pushed the water to his mouth and swallowed. 

“Good on you,” said Bucky. 

————

Hill was very soundly asleep. In her dream, where she had been trying to fly, she finally left the ground.

————

Kingsley held on to the edge of his desk, keeping a watchful eye on Bruce’s vitals on the screen. 

The patient was totally relaxed and dreaming. There was no sign of any outbursts. Kingsley would have been surprised if there were. Dr. Banner was exhausted to the point of his sleep almost turning into unconsciousness. 

Cow was making small worried yips as his paws couldn't find the floor. Kingsley turned slightly when he heard a consistent knocking coming from the Freeze Machine. 

————

Phil was on his way to the conservatory. He had wanted to find Nebula to have a serious talk with her, but as he had been informed of the fight with Gamora, he had decided to get back to work. She would come to him when she was ready 

At the warning he had very calmly taken hold of a handle on the wall, designed for that exact purpose, and braced. He hummed a little tune to himself. 

————

On third level Dummy caught hold of a very happy flying puppy. The young dog relaxed in his strange metal-friends claw and panted big dog-smile. Dummy beeped in equal good humour and turned on his electromagnetics to attach himself to the floor. 

————

Leo was the only one left in the lab to see the antimatter contort and split itself in two like an amoeba inside its glass dome. He almost choked at the sight. If his stammer hadn't congested his throat at that time he would have screamed in surprise. 

————

Outside the gym, halfway to her quarters to collect clothes for Bruce, Darcy started to frantically giggle as she grabbed hold the handlebars. Her tummy tickled. 

She hurriedly pulled out her phone to take some selfies for the newsletter. She managed to open to camera app but the device was hard to hold on to and slipped out of her fingers. It floated out of her reach. 

“Fuck!” she said. 

Then she noticed, as the phone twirled, that the video recording was on. She quickly held up a two-finger peace sign and hoped that she could pull a cool still from the film. She also hoped that the phone wouldn't be damaged when the gravity came back. 

————

In the common room Gamora and Nebula barely noticed that the gravity was turned off. They were both too jaded to space travel to ever let such a small thing disturb a conversation. They just each hooked their heels securely underneath the bolted down couch and continued talking. 

They were really coming to some good conclusions about their adopted father and some nasty ways in which he could be killed. 

————

Sam had just managed to pull Jemma away from her study of the antimatter. He told her he admired her devotion, but that she needed some sleep. Though that was only part of his motivation. He needed to sleep as well, and he wanted her to snuggle up to. 

He held her steady in a one arm embrace around her waist, while she put her arms around his neck. They looked into each other's eyes, content just to be in love. 

————

<@butterfingers>mode/query  
<@you>mode/ready to receive  
<@butterfingers>query/error:/:stability  
<@you>action/analys:/:stability/searching…  
<@butterfingers>mode/emotion/fear/worried  
<@you>searching…  
<@butterfingers>mode/emotion/fear/scared  
<@you>searching…15%  
<@you>searching…40%  
<@butterfingers>action/memory/contacts/@jarvis  
<@jarvis>Not available. All resources turned to ship trajectory.  
<@you>searching… 67% detection: ‘unknown virus’  
<@butterfingers>mode/emotion/fear/fear  
<@you>ERroR erRor errOr err…::action::/Emergency Shutdown/  
<@butterfingers>mode/query  
/connection can not be found/  
<@butterfingers>mode/emotion/sadness/sad::mode/emotion/surprise/confusion::action/memory/contacts/@bigdaddy  
<@bigdaddy>offline  
<@butterfingers>… … … I just have to deal with this myself. 

————

Tony hummed approvingly over the drink that Careet had prepared for him. Admittedly there was not much to work with in his little brewery, but she had done a good job with the means available. At least it didn't taste like medical alcohol any more. 

“I think you might have a future in this,” he said. “Keep it up.”

“Thank you, Commander. I'll try a different blend next time.”

She smiled, and it made her face even sweeter. Tony wished he still had his old playboy attitude, he would have charmed the pants of her in a moment. Now, sadly(?), most of his feelings towards her was, if not paternal, then at least protective. 

He missed Loki. 

He emptied the mug and winced at the taste. He missed bourbon. 

“Hey, JARVIS?” Tony gave the mug back to Careet for a refill. “Are we still under attack?”

“Captain Rogers is trying negotiate, sir.”

Tony nodded. He didn't really know why he wasn't there. All he knew that there was a dark hole in his chest, and it wasn't the arc-reactor cavity. It could almost be likened to someone pulling on him. 

Perhaps it was connected to his PTSD, but it seemed less likely since he hadn't shown any symptoms for quite some time. He rubbed the metal circle on his chest, it was itching. 

Careet gave him the mug back. Tony noticed it was only half-full. Clever girl, he liked her. 

“Mmm,” Tony smacked his tongue to the taste. “Not bad… What?”

She was looking down and frowning. 

“Your…” she motioned her hand in a circle between them as if searching for a word and gesturing to him at the same time “…light?”

Tony looked down. His arc-reactor shone green through his plane grey t-shirt. 

“That's unusual...” Tony pulled the neck of the shirt and frowned down at the machine surgically inserted in his rib cage. “That's Loki’s colour. How…?”

“Brace for acceleration,” said JARVIS from every speaker around the ship.

“What?”

There was no answer from the computer. 

The liquid in the mug soared into the air. Careet held on to the wall. Tony felt his feet leave the floor. His heart tugged. 

But it wasn't really a tug, it was a small pull. 

Then a big great pull!

“Oh shit…”

Tony was thrown heavily backwards into the wall, it was worse than the first time he had tried on the Iron Man boots. He had time to feel the back of his head flare up in incredible pain before he lost consciousness. 

He was sinking in to a river of black water.


	32. Chapter 32

It took several minutes for Loki to be let out of the Freeze Machine, and when he finally was he immediately fell face down to the floor. 

A spell of vertigo combined with a sudden regain of artificial gravity while the ship still in accelerated motion wrecked havoc with his disoriented mind. There was also something else, something he had been prepared to mentally lean on when exiting, that had disappeared. 

He let the Healer help him to his feet, but it was only his disorientation and the man's fabric wrapped hands that made him bare the assistance. As soon as he was on his feet he pulled away. 

“How do you feel?” asked the healer… _Kingsley. Doctor._

“Where is To… Anthony?”

“I don't know… JARVIS?”

“I regret to inform you that the verbal interaction matrix is currently offline because of redirected managing capacity. Please do try typing your query, or wait until capacity is returned.

It was an obvious recording. 

“Have your memory returned?” Kingsley asked.

“I… I think so. I feel…” Loki suddenly remembered his status and pulled his posture up, but then, knowing he was among friends and could display at least some weakness, relaxed slightly. “I feel a bit disoriented.”

“Do you mind if I make a basic examination?” Kingsley took up a small flashlight from the pocket of his white robe. “It will only take a minute.”

Loki nodded and let himself be gestured to sit down on a close by stool. He was grateful for the human’s concern, which he knew was genuine and caring. He also was glad to get off his feet for a moment, they felt a bit unsteady. 

“Follow the light with your eyes,” said Kingsley. 

It did hurt a bit to do so, Loki admitted, but it was mostly due to his newly awakened state. 

“That's strange.” 

Kingsley’s slightly muffled words were not comforting. 

—————

“All mechanical systems online,” Clint tagged off the checklists on his screen. “Going to isolated checks.”

“Haul integrity holding at oh point thirty-two percent,” Natasha was doing her own checks. “Mark position at six point nine degrees relative to speed. Report, engine temperature one.”

“Sixteen degrees Celsius,” Clint answered professionally. “Mark time on three. One, two…”

“Mark.”

“She's sailing smoothly.” 

“JARVIS, you back?”

“All systems check,” said the computer. “I’m fully functional.”

The two pilots were visibly relived, Steve wondered if they genuinely had been worried that JARVIS wouldn't be alright. He realised was slightly glad that he didn't understand all the mechanical lights and holographic projections around him. 

He watched Jane hurry over to Thor and the baby. She lovingly lifted the child in her arms, but still seemed to manage to keep a wakeful eye on the navigation readouts. 

Rocket was standing on Natasha's left armrest, looking over her actions. 

“Report,” Steve said in his best formal army tone, that didn't fool his friends but still gave them the comforting appearance of procedure that they were used to. “Rocket?”

“Those guys are really bad business,” the raccoon showed his sharp teeth. “They were already invading your computers. They are the ‘take first, ask how it works later’-types. Only way to disconnect from them is to get away, fast.”

“My firewalls are all intact,” JARVIS protested. “There are no breaches anywhere.”

“Backdoors?” asked Natasha. “Programmer easy access files?”

“Impossible to get through remotely, all must be manually unlocked by Mr. Stark himself.”

“Do a full search anyway,” Steve frowned. “Ship and crew status?”

“Ship intact,” Clint put a holographic image of Heidrun over the large table projector. “Only critical damage is the dock the Asgardians wrecked, but since there’s no wind resistance in space it's not that urgent…”

“Scan complete,” JARVIS said. “No breaches, no foreign codes.”

“Maybe you were lucky.” Rocket didn't sound convinced, scratched himself under the chin. 

“The crew?” Steve asked again, glancing to Thor who had come up beside him. 

The hologram of the ship was marked with the whereabouts of the crew. Steve’s eyes were immediately drawn to the kitchen and the four life signs there. He wondered which of the red dots was Bucky. There were seven dots on the Bridge. 

“Who's that?” He pointed to a dot on the third level “It has different shape than all the others.” 

“Peter Quill and Ronan,” JARVIS informed. “Since their bodies are currently interlocked their individual body signs are jumbled at this scale. Do you want an enlargement?”

“NO!” called at least three other people as well as Steve. 

“I feel dirty,” Rocked made some gagging noises. 

“I’m getting a distress call from an offline channel,” JARVIS informed. “It's from Mr. Stark’s secret distillery.”

“Of course he has one of those,” sighed Steve. 

The hologram zoomed in on two dots on the lower level. One of the dots seemed to lay still, the other was moving fast away from it. 

“Somebody is running,” said Nat. 

“Switching to camera in corridor... Its Ms. Careet.”

On the monitor the pink woman’s worried face appeared, she was breathing hard from running.  
_  
“Hello?”_ she asked, trying to find where to look and turning her head to find where to listen. Hello? The Commander had an accident, he’s unconscious, I can’t move him... 

“This is Captain Rogers,” Steve was already moving to the elevator. “I’m on my way.”  
_  
“Thank you! I’m going back to him.”_

She turned away and started running back. 

“Dr. Kingsley is informed,” said JARVIS as his voice traveled with Steve into the elevator. “When you get there, if possible, and if there is time, show Mr. Stark’s left eye to the scanner by the door. It will unlock my blind spots of the area.”

“I’ll try. Tell Bucky to meet up with me on the way to medical.”

“Yes, Captain.”

——————

When Captain Rogers finally carried Anthony into the Med Bay, Loki had already worked himself into a frenzy of worry. 

“Put him on the table,” said Kingsley, putting rubber gloves over his unwrapped hands.

“Careet said that he was pushed into the wall by some strange force, she didn’t feel anything herself. She said he hit his head.”

The woman in question nodded her head behind the Captain. 

“His light was green,” she said. 

The arc reactor under Anthony’s shirt was blue. 

Kingsley shone the same flash light in Anthony’s eyes as he had used on Loki earlier, difference was that Loki had been able to keep his eyes open by himself and without assistance. He felt sick to his stomach when he saw the unresponsive brown eyes. 

“JARVIS, do a full scan,” Kingsley took a step back. “I think he might have a concussion.” 

“This is my fault,” Loki breathed. “Sweet Anthony.”

“Never heard anyone call him sweet before,” half-laughed Rogers. “Your memory is back then?”

“As far as I can tell.” He couldn’t look away from the human on the table. “I had awoken enough magic within me so, when I was physically healing in my natural temperature, I could dream walk... though there wasn’t much walking...”

He paused. The blue scanner light moved over Anthony, several monitors began to build up images and statistics. Kingsley watched them carefully. 

Barnes entered the room, accompanied by Darcy carrying a small pile of clothes. Rogers nodded to both of them, Barnes moved to stand close to his side. Darcy gave Loki a supportive smile. 

“What happened?” she asked. 

“I dream walked,” Loki said again. “I was trying to escape the influence of the Mind Stone... I have a bit of experience doing that, as you know... My magic led me away from the darkness to my subconscious anchor...” he paused again. 

“Tony?” Darcy edged him on. 

“Yes, but it would seem that my anchor wasn’t only attached to my subconscious. It was attached to the physical form as well. When I pulled it in the dream, I...”

“...pulled him physically as well?” Barnes finished. 

“Yes.” 

“It’s not all your fault,” said Kingsley bluntly. “The ship was in zero gravity, he wasn’t holding on to anything, and he was influenced by alcohol.”

Loki didn’t feel comforted, but he appreciated the doctor’s candor. 

“I was right,” Kingsley looked over the results. “It’s a concussion, a pretty severe one at that. Cap, could you be so kind to carry him to recovery? Put him in the bed next to Dr. Banner. I’ll prepare some painkillers and something that hopefully can wake him up.”

Rogers gave a short nod and walked over to lift Anthony’s limp body, Barnes hurried with and gently placed his metallic hand under Anthony’s neck to steady the head from movement. Darcy held open the door to the recovery room, Careet was already preparing the bed. 

Loki followed nervously, he was trying not to think about that word, ‘hopefully’, that Kingsley had said. It held too much uncertainty for him to bare. 

He detested his own weakness and would take it all out on Anthony later. Because Anthony _would_ become better, and he _would_ able to both take, and return, any verbal abuse Loki could, and would, throw at him. 

Having so suddenly returned to him was still making Loki’s mind jumbled, and since Anthony was his anchor the memories around the human were the most clear. 

Anthony had started their relationship with a lie. He had made Loki believe that he loved him, all for the sake of coming close, to find out his secrets. And Loki had fallen for it. He had really believed that one mortal, one person, could actually love him, despite what he had done. 

Anthony had respected his boundaries and shortcomings, even put his own extensive carnal urges aside for him. Loki thought he finally had found forgiveness and understanding that wasn’t based on motherly, or brotherly, love. 

Loki had himself fallen in love. With a mortal. And if there or had to fall in love with a mortal, then Anthony Stark wasn’t a bad choice. Intelligent, handsome, rich, funny, brave, and flawed in just the right ways to be compatible to Loki’s own flaws. Anthony had seen the depth of the Universe and kept most of his sanity. 

When it had been taken away from him, when the lie fell, Loki had fallen apart. 

He had almost killed Anthony in the process. 

But then... then something had changed. Anthony had changed. He had fallen for his own lie, and even though he still wanted to get into Loki’s trousers, he had been willing to wait as long as it would take for Loki to be ready. 

They were building trust between them, changing themselves for each other, giving and taking. Loki could let Anthony satisfy himself to his naked body without feeling repulsed. Even if he couldn’t relate to or understand the feelings displayed it was worth it seeing the human’s satisfaction and sweet smile. 

It was also fascinating out of an entertaining, and sometimes amusing, point of view, but he had never told Anthony that. The poor human was too frail and narcissistic to hear he sometimes looked like he’d been overeating on his favourite food until sickening in the throws of high passion. 

Loki remembered the kiss he had given Anthony when his memory had gone, and he had remembered Anthony’s sequence of emotional reactions to it. Surprise, happiness, realisation, anger, disappointment, sadness. The kiss had taken down the wall between them with a huge sledgehammer that they previously had lovingly chipped away piece by piece with blunt chisels. 

Kingsley was attaching a needle attached to a thin tube and a plastic bag of clear fluids to Anthony’s arm. Loki watched a bit of red blood mix with the liquid in the tube before being taken in by the body again. 

Anthony’s eyes flickered open, what ever was in the liquid seemed to be doing its work. They looked at each other. Anthony smiled. 

Loki carefully reached out and put his hand on the pillow, playing with his fingertips against Anthony’s hair. 

“You need to cut your hair,” he said. 

“You should talk,I almost drowned in yours.”

“Is he delirious?” asked Barnes. 

“No,” smiled Loki. “That makes sense, it’s from the dream.”

Anthony whined. 

“Could you ask the leprechauns to stop chewing so loudly?”

“ _Now_ he’s delirious,” noted Loki, but then listened. “Though you should probably find out what that noise is.”

The others listened as well. It was a very low, slightly churning, sound. 

“It’s coming from Engineering,” JARVIS informed them. “I... wait...”

He sounded like was feeling or looking for something, like a person wondering exactly where in the body that pinching, bubbling, pain was coming from. In Loki’s case the pain came from his gut, for JARVIS it seemed to be in the engines, probably not unlike the gut for JARVIS whose body, more or less, was the ship. 

“I have detected an unauthorised addition to my hardware. According to surveillance, I believe that Rocket has done some... jerry-rigging on the engines .”

“Does the...” Rogers paused and frowned as if searching for the right phrasing of words with the sentient ship “Is it hurting you?”

“The ship is not damaged, Captain Rogers. Thank you for asking.”

“Are the... alterations doing something?”

“No. At the moment it is just shaking around, that’s the source of the sound.” JARVIS paused. “I have questioned him, he has told me to trust him and that it’s a surprise, but we are all going to like it.”

“That’s just great.”

“Agent Barton agrees with you, Dr. Foster is excited though.”

“She would be,” Rogers sighed. “She’s probably on a hormone high.”

Everyone looked at him. 

“What?” he asked nervously. “Is that sexist? I read a book on new mothers, Clint gave it to me!”

They ignored him. 

Normally Loki would have thought it a bit amusing, mostly because Anthony would be upset over anyone doing unauthorised touching of his stuff. Now it only made him roll his eyes. He continued moving his fingers over the ends of Anthony’s hair, it tickled in a good way. 

“You’re pretty,” blurted Anthony to Careet who was adjusting his covers. “‘Pretty In Pink’.” He giggled to himself.

Darcy giggled as well, and Kingsley shook his head in a condescending way. It was obviously a popular culture reference, otherwise Loki would have moved away his hand. As it were, he ventured a small pull on the dark brown hair. 

“Ouch! Babe! Man with serious head injury here!”

“Can’t be that serious,” Loki gave him a look. “Your mouth is still working.”

“And your mouth is delicious.”

Loki blushed, remembering the kiss. It simultaneously repulsed and excited him. 

“The concussion in combination with the drugs might make him loose some of his speech inhibitions,” said Kingsley. 

“That’s all we need,” said Darcy and exchanged a meaningful look with Loki. 

“Will he be all right?” asked Barnes. 

“He should be,” the doctor looked back at the monitors. “I want to keep him here under observation for at least twenty-four hours.”

“You killed my mommy,” Anthony pointed at Barnes. “And now you’re sleeping with my dad.”

Barnes just looked at him as if he’d been told he forgot to brush his hair and didn’t care. He had probably gotten over the whole parent-killing thing a while ago. Loki knew for a fact that the two of them had had a tearful heart to heart because Anthony had graphically described it to him, with hugs and all. 

“Steve’s not your dad,” Barnes said calmly. 

“I wanted him to be my dad.” 

Loki suppressed a laugh at the terrified look on Rogers’ face. He smiled even more when Anthony reached out for the man and Rogers was too polite to not let Anthony hug his hand tightly between his. 

“I was four when Howard brought me to the twenty-year memorial of your disappearance. He had dressed me up like some kind of mini-him for the cameras. Everyone was talking about you, Auntie Peggy cried, I never seen her do that before...”

“Tony...” Rogers grimaced and tried to gently to get free. 

“...when they held speeches about you I wanted you to be my dad. I talked to my poster of you as you were.”

That created an awkward silence in the room. Anthony didn’t seem to notice though, lost in memories as he was. Loki’s heart broke a little for the little boy talking to a piece of paper as if it were his father.

Anthony suddenly laughed. 

“I did a science fair project about you in sixth grade. Homeland security came and took it away before the fair, but it was really good. They made me do a papier-mâché volcano instead... It took five fire trucks and a hazmat-team to clean the gym after it erupted.”

“I read about that in your bio,” laughed Darcy. 

“Yeah, that was fun...”

It didn’t sound that he had much fun afterwards, something Loki should probably bring up at a later, more private, moment. He noticed Darcy make a note on her phone, the volcano story would most likely appear in the newsletter. 

Loki gave Anthony’s hair a last gentle pull and leaned back in his chair with a tired sigh. 

“How are _you_?” Darcy asked, her face full of best friend concern. 

“I think I’m fine,” Loki tiredly rubbed his forehead. “Then again, how would I know? It’s a bit hard to remember what I might forgot?”

“Yeah,” she nodded. 

“Fuck,” came a groan from behind her.

Everyone turned to look at the next bed. 

“Brucie!” Anthony called out. “Bedbros!”

“My dick hurts.”

“I might have given Dr. Banner the same painkillers,” said Kingsley.


	33. Chapter 33

“Yellow.”

“Purple.”

“White.” 

“That’s not a colour,” said Bruce. 

“Is too!” protested Tony. “Black is the no colour! White is the all the colours.”

“I know! That’s cheating.”

“Nah-ha.”

Tony looked around to find Loki for support, if anyone knew about cheating it would be him. Sadly Loki was missing from the room. He vaguely remembered something about Loki wanting to change clothes. Tony would have liked to see that. 

“What were we talking about?” asked Bruce. 

“I don’t know. Plasma exhaustion?”

There was a big groan from Darcy at the door. 

“Ice cream!” she yelled in frustration. “For the fifth time! You were talking about ice cream! What flavour do you want? Fudge or mint?”

“That’s stupid!” Tony frowned, trying to focus on her through the mists of his painkillers and double vision. “What kind of idiotic flavours are those?”

Darcy looked pleadingly at Clint who was on watch-so-that-Tony-don’t-fall-asleep-and-slip-into-a-coma duty and trying not to laugh at her. At the gravitas of the look Clint brought himself together and turned to the beds.

“Tone?” Clint said in a child-explaining tone, and it felt nice listening to him. “You remember the part where you only installed two ice cream makers on the ship?”

He had a nice voice, Tony liked it. Especially since he was talking about ice-cream. 

“Yeah?”

“And do you remember the part where you made that far too complicated algorithm nobody understands to rotate different flavours between them?”

“Yeah?”

Tony was quite proud of that. 

“So, now the flavours are fudge and mint.”

“Can I please have both?” asked Bruce tentatively. 

“Of course you can, sweetie,” said Darcy with a sweet smile. 

“Can I have the blue one?” asked Tony. “It’s the sexiest colour!”

“I’m going to get you both flavours too,” said Darcy. “I should just have done that from the beginning...”

“Me too!” Clint raised a finger. “But I only want a quarter of the mint, melt them soft, and stir them together, but not too much? 

Darcy starred at him. 

“Hey! Blame Loki! It was he who changed my sense of taste.”

She sighed and left. Tony waived goodbye. He felt a bit nauseous. 

——————

“Freaky,” said Rocket. 

“The only thing that is freaky is that it’s still on my shield,” said Steve. 

They were standing in the engine room where Leo had brought the antimatter with the help of Dummy. Jane, with Mia sleeping in her arms, Thor, Bucky, and Tien were there as well. They were gathering around Rocket’s improvised addition to the engines. 

Leo was glad that Tony wasn’t there, the... _addition_ looked like something out of a technological scavenger hunt. Probably because it was exactly what it was. 

“So it’s like a cell?” asked Steve. 

“Not necessarily,” Leo shook his head, trying to find the right words to explain without stumbling or sounding to inside-Hollywood of science. “It could just be a reaction to the extreme pressure of our extreme speed.” 

Leo didn’t really believe that himself, but didn’t want to make presumptuous theories in the presence of non-scientists that could ask questions that he wasn’t ready to answer. He exchanged a look with Jane who was poker facing it. 

“B-by the way, is the speed holding?” he asked her. 

“We’re in a constant state of relative acceleration...” Jane glanced at Steve and Bucky who had totally blank faces. “...which means that we are going really, really fast even though it feels like we are standing still.”

“Be ready to go even faster,” said Rocket, patting his contraption. 

Their attention was shifted to the engine addition again. 

There were parts that Rocket had gotten from the fighting robots on the pirate space station, pieces that he must have stolen from the storage and Tony’s workshop, there was even a thing that looked frighteningly similar to one of their precious washing machines. It connected to the Arc Accelerator and the large Arc Reactors with wires that would make an Indian city electrician have nightmares. 

Jane actually looked a bit worried. Leo watched her lift the hammer so that it rested as a protection against the baby’s back, it seemed to lay there softly as if it was made of feathers. Quite logical, since the child was probably as pure of heart as anyone could get onboard the ship. Thor gave them both a glowingly proud smile. 

“So,” Rocket was explaining. “We place the antimatter here...” He pointed to the washing machine drum “...and then, as we turn this baby on, it will create a force field, that will create a wormhole.”

“ _Hopefully_ ” added Jane in a stern tone. 

“Yes,” the raccoon rolled his eyes. “Hopefully.”

“And that depending on the gravity field friction we get from the planet, and on our new calculations for the antimatter having gone through osmosis, _and_ us managing to do the changes without Tony.”

“Aren’t you a glimmer of starlight.” It wasn’t a question. 

Tien held up something that looked like a cellphone, but probably most likely wasn’t, to the heap of wires and metal. The small machine sounded a few quick ticks as she looked at the display. 

“I’m sure you are aware that you are breaking five Registration Laws, and nine Nova Protocol Regulations with this contraption?”

“Of course,” Rocket grinned a sharp smile and leaned precariously against a seemingly weak part of the contraption. “But since I did it on a neutral ship, you can’t do anything about it.”

Tien glared down at him, her dark cheeks becoming a bit darker. She was quite the scary lady. 

“ _If_ everything goes to plan...” Steve had got most of his authority back in his voice “...will we get to Asgard?”

“Hopefully,” said Jane. “In theory, yes.”

“Unpack that for me, please.” 

He was loosing his patience again, Bucky took his hand. It seemed to give him both support and calm him down. Still, he didn’t seem happy. 

“Well...” Jane took a breath and glanced to both Thor and Leo. “We will shift the, in lack of a better word, ‘dimension’ for sure, that much is certain... What is less certain is which realm we’ll end up in. It could be Asgard, but it could also be Vanheim...” she grimaced “...Jotenheim, or even..,”

“...Hel,” finished Thor. “There are nine different realms, as you know.”

A few moments of silence washed over them. Rocky was picking his teeth with his claws, he didn’t seem worried at all. Most likely he figured it wasn’t his problem. Leo felt a bit jealous at that. 

“So...” Bucky looked at Thor. “We can even end up back on Earth?”

“No,” Jane hurried to say. “Earth exists in both ‘dimensions’ simultaneously, the paradox alone will keep the ship away from it. I think. To be honest, it’s all a bit metaphysical, and frankly too much chaos theory and speculative mathematics for me to grasp.”

She looked to Leo for support. 

“S-simply put...” Leo did his best to guide his mostly mended mind to find the right words. “We understand the results a-a-and the basic theory of it. But the calculations... w-we need Tony and JARVIS working together for that.”

“Preferably with some assistance from Dr. Banner,” agreed JARVIS from above them. “Still, even so, we will be more or less blind when shifting, as Dr. Foster called it, ‘dimensions’.”

“That sounds reassuring,” sighed Steve with obvious irony. “How long?”

“Hard to say,” Jane shrugged. “We are trying to break into subspace here, something that only so far has existed for me in theory. It would probably go faster if we had Tony and Bruce to help us. According to Kingsley Bruce can get back to work tomorrow, for Tony he’s is still uncertain.”

Everyone took a moment to contemplate this. Leo was feeling a headache coming on, he realised he hadn’t eaten anything for over seven hours, and that was barely countable as a ‘light breakfast’. It was even longer since he rested, it had a good sleep. Jemma usually was the one telling him to take it easy, even though she was just as bad herself. Now she was with Sam and had other things in her mind. Leo wasn’t jealous, he just wasn’t used to keep track of his own time. 

He yawned, Steve noticed, Leo blushed. 

“Look,” Steve sighed. “We’re all pretty tired. Why don’t we call it a day? We’ll come back tomorrow with rested minds.”

Everyone agreed. Jane and Thor left while Leo secured the antimatter container to a good position. He put it on the floor, in the corner, Bucky and Rocket helped him. Steve still wasn’t happy they were using his shield. 

Rocket volunteered to stay in the engine room and keep an eye on things. He could sleep in the foldout cot that Tony had provided for just such occasions. Though the ‘cot’ in question was reminding Leo more of the same interior of a nice train sleeping compartment. It was also a bit cool that it was folded out of the wall when a lever was pulled. 

“Doctor Fitz?”

Leo turned at Tien’s question. 

“Yes?” he said. 

“May I talk to you in private?”

Her tone was kind but businesslike. Leo got flashbacks from his first meeting with Hill assessing him for SHEILD. 

“Y-yes?” he said, feeling very nervous. 

——————

“Wow,” breathed Peter Quill. 

Ronan just breathed, though not as strained as Peter. It most likely had more to do with his Kree-physique than being less winded from extortion. 

“Did you know it could be like this?” Peter leaned back against the wall. 

“You seem to forget that I don’t have any memory of doing this before.”

“Well, for being your first time, you were great.”

Peter leaned in and gave Ronan a lazy kiss, both of their lips quite swollen and tired. He giggled and leaned his forehead against Roman’s bare, and slightly moist, shoulder. Who would have thought he’d ever end up in a situation like this? Entangled with a Kree warlord, who among other things, had amnesia, was technically dead, and also very obviously male? 

He had had sex with males before, but Ronan was... well, so much more obviously _male_ than any of his former partners. He had nothing against it, nothing at all, it was just surprising. 

“Excuse me?” 

Both of them looked up at Gamora who was looking down on them with badly hidden amusement. She had her hands on her hips and weighed on her right leg in a relaxed waiting pose. 

“Are you two finished here? You are blocking up the shortcut to the cargo bay.”

“Oh! Ah? I...” Peter managed to sound out some incoherent vowels as he tried to find his trousers that was just out of his reach.

Ronan didn’t seem embarrassed at all, the sexy bastard. 

“Eh...” Peter didn’t have much luck with this letter of the alphabet either. 

“It’s not like I’ve never seen it all before, Quill,” Gamora smirked and kicked the eluded piece of fabric and leather towards him. “Get dressed, boys. I feel a fight brewing.”

“How so?” 

Peter got to his feet. He was sore-muscled, but memories of pleasure outweighed any pain. Ronan was also reaching for his clothes in a stiff way. 

“We had a run in with the Third Quadrant,” Gamora rolled her eyes, showing exactly what she thought of the people in question. “Rocket said that he thinks we got away clean, but this ship might be too tempting for them not to follow.”

That sounded very likely. Peter confessed to himself that if Heidrun hadn’t been from full of nice people, he’d might be tempted to take some things from the ship as well. Luckily, and sometimes botheringly, Peter had a selective conscience, and it most often selected them he regarded as friends. 

“What is the Third Quadrant?” asked Ronan with a slight frown. “I don’t remember hearing about it before, but it gives me a deep sense of irritation.”

“It probably should,” Peter grimaced. “After you died, they made a resurgence. Apparently, before you became a crazy pissed off warlord, you were a pretty good Accuser. You kept a lot of bad guys scared of.... What is it? 

Ronan looked confused. 

“‘Crazy pissed off warlord’ I understand, but... I died?”

“Uh...” 

Gamora laughed. 

“Perhaps you should have started with that,” she smirked. 

——————

Loki had to take a detour not to walk into Thor on his way back from changing his clothes. He had no desire to be gushed over by an overbearing big brother. He wasn’t still sure he was all back and wanted to have some time to think and recover before going into any major events. 

He was eager to get back to Anthony as well. 

He hadn’t known that his bond to the man had been so strong. Well, he knew it was strong, but not _that_ strong. Reaching for the burning tree in his dream, his safety anchor, he had physically grabbed hold of Anthony in the physical as well. 

It was just clean and simple luck that the ship had been in weightlessness at that precise moment. Anthony’s fall could have been so much worse if he had had the extra weight of gravitation pressing on him. 

The thought that the brilliant human’s brain could actually have been broken, instead of shaken, made Loki feel uneasy. Loki needed to protect Anthony better, even from Loki himself.   
The first option was to just leave, but that wouldn’t work. Loki was far to emotionally invested to ever leave Anthony’s side alive. Also, the magical bond between them wouldn’t break by just distance. 

Second he could break the bond, also out of question. If Loki was to stay the bond would only grow and could hurt them both if broken. It was a possibility that Loki could even loose his memories again. 

The third and best option was simply to make Anthony stronger. Though that wasn’t as simple as it was said. 

The small amount of Idun’s Elixir that Anthony had already consumed had given his body some extra durability and added about fifty Midgardian years to his life. It was clear that he needed more, Loki needed more. Much more. 

What was it that they had said before about comparing their remaining lifespans? Loki’s mind still had some fogs waiting to be blown away... ‘An hour to a year’, they had said. Anthony’s life being the hour and Loki the year. 

It was a great difference. Though there were hours in Loki’s life he very much remembered. The first time he had ridden a horse, his hard work building up to his first spell, the few times Thor had chosen to let Loki read to him instead of going off with his imbecile friends, the moments with his mother in the royal garden...

Loki swallowed back some emotions and straightened his back. This made the wound in his stomach sting. 

Since the cut was no longer magically ignored, and lately had gone through several rapid freezes and thaws, it wasn’t in good shape. Loki done his best to care for it while changing clothes, but he would need Kingsley to take a look as well. 

It wasn’t good, whatever the diagnosis. 

He needed more of the elixir, to heal himself and to keep Anthony a bit longer. 

“Loki!” 

A familiar voice called out behind him. He turned to wait and let Darcy catch up with him. She was carrying a small case used in the kitchen to keep things cold. 

“Ice cream,” she indicated the case. “Good for concussions.”

“Really?” Loki raised an eyebrow as they started to walk side by side down the corridor. 

“It’s more of a traditional thing,” she shrugged. “Kind of a bribe to make sick kids stay in bed and don’t run around and hurt themselves.”

“And this ice cream is for Anthony?”

“Yes.”

“I see what you mean.”

There was a moment of silence as they turned a corner where two corridors crossed. 

“So you can dreamwalk?” Darcy asked casually even though she was definitely curious. 

Loki smiled, it felt good to be back even if he hadn’t been gone for long, or actually away for that matter. 

“It’s not conscious,” he explained. “It’s more like my magic influencing the dream. I was loosing my memory and Anthony is my anchor. My magic turned it into a dream where I ran away from the darkness attached to my head and looked for his light.”

“Oh.”

“It’s equivalent to you dreaming of running through high green grass after the Hulk has hugged you. The subconscious is near uncontrollable and mostly speak in symbolism. I learned that from my mother, she could foretell the future by her dreams.”

The thought of Frigga strained his chest. He was glad that he hadn’t lost it, it kept him grounded. 

“It’s still cool,” said Darcy with a grin. “And how did you know about my grass dream?”

“You wrote a poem about it in the newsletter,” Loki stopped and stood to let her walk before him through the Med Bay door. “You didn’t say it was a dream, but it was noticeable in between the lines.”

She laughed as she took up a plastic bowl of minty green ice cream and put it on the writing desk of Dr. Kingsley. The doctor looked up from his notes to her, he was clearly giving her a smile from behind the bandages. 

“Thank you for a good job,” Darcy smiled back at him. 

She and Loki proceeded into the recovery room. 

“Yay!” called Barton and sat up from his resting position on one of the vacant beds. “Ice cream!”

“Creamed ice!” agreed Anthony but then frowned. “No... that sounded wrong. I need a drink.”

“That’s what got you into this mess, dear,” Loki took the bowl from Darcy and sat down beside him on the bed. “Now be a good boy and I might even let you feed me that fudge.”

“Best day ever,” smiled Anthony


	34. Chapter 34

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> You didn’t think the last leg of the adventure would be easy, did you?

Tony found himself in the bathroom looking in the long mirror over the sinks. He didn’t really remember how he got there, but it had something to do with needing to go to the toilet. Since he was washing his hand he guessed that he was done. 

It wasn’t his first concussion, more like his fifth or sixth, but it was probably his worst. He had heard tell of some ice hockey player that had had thirteen concussions, suffering from depression and bad long term memories. He was only a little bit worried, mostly because he already was depressed and didn’t have that many long term memories he really wanted to keep. 

“JARVIS, where’s Loki?”

“Loki is sleeping in your quarters, sir.”

“Is it night?”

“As to the rhythm of the ship, it’s around midnight, sir.”

“I hate the rhythm of the ship,” Tony pouted. 

“I know, sir, but time in space is relative.”

“Still hate it.” Tony scratched the hair he on his belly under his pop culture t-shirt and yawned. “I’m going to get something to drink.”

“Sir...”

“I know,” huffed Tony dismissingly waiving his hand. “Coffee.”

“Sir...” 

“Fine!” Tony sighed loudly and sarcastically rolled his eyes as exited the bathroom. “No caffeine with a head injury. Some juice, then!”

“You can have some juice, sir.” JARVIS’ voice followed him in the speakers. “But you are not supposed to leave the Med Bay. You are still under observation.”

“Then shut! up! and observe me getting some juice!” Tony growled. 

JARVIS said something about him going the wrong way, but Tony had started ignoring the patronising computer. He knew perfectly well where he was going, he had designed the fucking ship! He was going to get some... _eh_

...he was going to... get some repairs done on the ship. The docking was damaged, he suddenly remembered. If they were going to go and turn on the Arc Accelerator that damage could become quite dangerous. He must fix it before that. 

——

“Fucking rodent!” 

“Nebula?”

“Phil Coulson?”

The human smiled. He had nice teeth and the outer edges of his eyes crinkled in a charming way. He walked up to her, only momentarily glancing to the animal that she was carrying under her arm. The animal was making happy grunts. 

“Just call me Phil, considering the circumstances it’s probably for the best.”

Nebula didn’t feel nervous, but she did feel a bit unsure on what to do. Her talk with Gamora had made it clear that her actions towards the human hadn’t been exactly consensual. Humans, again according to Gamora, had quite strong emotions about this. 

She had used him to get asylum on the ship, a request she probably could have gotten granted just by asking nicely. 

But then again, Nebula wasn’t much for asking nicely. 

Now she had a husband that she only could get rid of either by killing him or dying herself. It had seemed to be a good thing at the time, when she was desperate, to choose a matrimony official whose beliefs held the ceremony with least loopholes. 

“What are you doing?” he asked. 

Nebula squared her shoulders and shifted the furry animal’s weight on her arm. 

“Rocket has disabled Snugglebutt’s tracking collar. It took me ages to find her.”

There was no need to mention anything about the camera and information gathering, it would only be interpreted in the wrong way. Nebula wasn’t spying, anymore, but she left led to keep herself informed for her own safety. 

“Why would he do that?” asked Phil. 

“Because he’s a little shit who likes to mess around. He doesn’t like me.” She paused. “Not many people do.”

They stood quietly for a second. Then Phil smiled kindly and reached out to stroke Snugglebutt’s furry head. For a short moment the flat face was visible before the hairs fell back over it again. Nebula could feel the animal’s heartbeat go faster, Snugglebutt seemed to like Phil. 

“Could you fix it?” he asked. “The collar, I mean. Tony’s workshop is just over there. He doesn’t like people touching his stuff, but since he’s not here...”

“Are you going against your leader?” Nebula raised an eyebrow but let him show him the way to the workshop. “Is that wise?”

“We’re more of a democracy,” Phil shrugged. “We work together, combining our strengths. Tony is only highest ranked because it’s his ship.”

It was a strange way to run a ship, but Nebula had seen enough to know it worked, most of the times. She eyed the man who was her husband, he had a nicely shaped head. 

“What is your strengths?” 

“Mine?” he gave a small laugh. “Now it’s mostly paperwork and gardening.”

“What did you do back on your homeplanet?”

“I was the director and handler of an elite force of secret agents that occasionally saved the world.” He sounded far too casual, like there was something more, though it was clearly not an act. “I like this job better. Here we are.”

Nebula looked to the open door beside them. She was sure that it shouldn’t ought to be open. The small room was quite packed and messy as well, something you wouldn’t expect from the type of person that she had concluded Anthony Stark to be. 

Also, there were two large robots inside, they both consisted of a minor band-wheeled vehicle with a large arm, about her size, attached on top. The hand was a large three fingered pincher. They were both turned off. 

“Strange,” Phil touched the closest one. “If they were out of power, or damaged, they should’ve gone to their stations. JARVIS?”

“They are just gossiping again, Agent Coulson” said the ship computer with a sigh from a speaker in the ceiling. “They like to do that, run binary nonsense to each other. I gave them a private network so I didn’t need to listen to their chatter.”

Phil looked hesitant for a moment, but then turned to Nebula with a smile. 

“Shall we look at the collar?”

————

“And this is the primary helm,” Natasha said. “Right, left, up, down, or whatever that is in a vacuum without clear direction references. That one is reverse, at least that is a no-brainer, most of the times.”

Darcy nodded while she was trying to memorise the controls. 

“Right, left, up, down, reverse.”

“This antemeter you only have to worry about if you have at least a twenty degree horizon angle within your port parameters...”

“Right...”

Darcy was dead set on learning how to operate Heidrun, at least as a copilot. There weren’t enough pilots aboard for a decent rotation, and as the Moral Officer it was Darcy’s duty to ease some of the burden. If that meant that she had to learn to drive a giant spaceship, so be it. 

How hard could it be? She had passed her driving license on the first go after all. 

“Most of the equipment is to be worked in sync with JARVIS...” Nat continued “...much like Tony’s suit. The biggest difference between the ship and Iron Man, except for size and use, is that Heidrun needs two pilots to cooperate with. One can do it alone as well, but it’s a real strain...”

There was only the two of them on the Bridge at the moment. It was time to shift copilots and Phil had messaged that he was running a bit late. Nat said it was fine since they were in ‘a constant state of relative acceleration’. Nat had no idea what that meant either, but had been assured that it was kind of like a car with a locked wheel and a heavy brick on the gas pedal. 

That didn’t sound too reassuring to Darcy, but she wasn’t an expert. 

“This would be easier if I could start you off with Tanngrisner,” Nat rubbed her forehead. “But since we are in high motion, the smaller ships had to stay put.”

She looked tired. 

“How are you holding up?” Darcy asked carefully. 

“Fine,” Nat subconsciously touched her belly but let her hand fall when she noticed. “Well, I’m angry and worried as shit, but I’m putting it into getting to her. It’s not a mission...” she breathed “...I’m just treating it like one to cope.”

“I’m all for it,” Darcy gave her arm a supportive squeeze. “Then punch the assholes in the face.”

“Oh, someone is going to suffer for this, rest assured.”

Darcy looked at her admiringly, she had definitely chosen well when it came to a role model. 

There was a sound from behind them and they turned to look as the elevator opened. It wasn’t Phil as expected, it was Loki.

“Ladies,” he greeted them with the handsome and mischievous smile that was more or less his trademark. 

“Can’t sleep?” Nat asked him. 

“I slept enough,” he shook his head. “Feels like I’ve been saying that too often lately, and I don’t even need that much sleep.”

He looked to the big front window-screen that was depicting their forward surroundings. It was mostly distant stars, it was almost impossible to see how fast they were going. If you stood still and watched for a minute you could perhaps notice some of the brighter stars moving. 

“It’s beautiful,” sighed Loki slowly walking up to the screen. “For the centuries I have lived it’s actually quite rare to see such a sight. Travelling by Bifrost, passageways, or... falling, you won’t see the universe for what it really is.”

They stood for a moment. Darcy tried to see what Loki was seeing, but mostly she tried to not think of them hitting something on their wild journey forward. 

“How about the multiverse then?” suddenly asked Nat. “Do you see that?”

“Sometimes,” Loki shrugged and turned to her. “Snippets, shadows, and glances.”

“Is...” Nat actually seemed to hesitate. 

“You are wondering about where your body came from,” he shook his head. “I do not know. Not without the Reality Stone, and perhaps not even then. The multiverse exists outside the rules of any reality.”

“I just keep imagining...” Nat took a deep breath. “Somewhere there is a ship with a crew like this one, and there is the Natasha Romanov that died. But the body they have is not this one, it’s torn open to the womb, physically altered by magic, and... different. What are her friends thinking, what is...”

“You do better not to think about it,” Loki gave Darcy a nod towards Nat and she gave Nat the supporting hug that Loki couldn’t give. “We live in our Reality, and that is what counts. All the Stones are abominations to existence, and the use of them always bring chaos.”

They stood still for a moment. Darcy let go of Nat. 

“Nat was teaching me to drive the ship,” she said. “Perhaps you want to learn too?”

“I’m quite proficient in driving several vehicles,” Loki looked curiously around the Bridge. “But since most differ, and my increased knowledge could be of assistance to Anthony, I would indeed like to take part of the lesson,”

“A simple ‘yes’ would have sufficed,” Nat smirked. “Come on, I’ll show you the power feed read outs...”

They started to move but were stopped in their tracks by a insistent beeping sound and several flashing blue lights. Nat ran over to a console by the wall, Darcy and Loki followed. 

“It’s the haul integrity alarm. JARVIS?”

“Mr. Stark wishes to inform you that he has the problem under control, but I would recommend you making an immediate emergency stop before he does anything about it.”

Darcy barely saw Natasha move but the next moment she had slapped her hand down on a large red button on the wall. The constant sound of the engines that nobody had noticed disappeared. 

“Brace! Brace! Brace!” scalded JARVIS though the ship only short moments before Darcy fell down on the floor. 

The emergency stop was not near enough as violent as the emergency start. It was mostly a balance shift of the inner ear. It would probably not disturb anyone that was asleep. Darcy’s thoughts had gone directly to Bruce, the poor man needed his rest. 

“I’m going to kill him,” said Nat who was hanging on to a module. 

“Me first,” growled Loki getting up from the chair he had crookedly fallen into.

——————

“Well somebody should have fucking told me the ship was in constant relative acceleration!” 

Tony had been halfway into his Iron Man spacesuit when Clint had bursted into Engineering to stop him. The man had grabbed hold of him from behind, he was lucky the spacesuit wasn’t automatic, he could have lost a few fingers. 

Loki had appeared in the blink of an eye later. There hadn’t been any smoke or real sound, just Loki struggling slightly to keep his balance. All the signs pointed to Loki having made a unprepared and perhaps dangerous teleportation. 

Loki was now looking down to Rocket who was sitting on the floor, polishing a gun barrel, and looking innocently wicked. 

“I would have told him before he opened the hatch.”

Normally Tony would have admired the beast’s brazenness, but this was just mean. He couldn’t help but to laugh though. 

“Stark!” Loki was holding in to a stitch in his side and was breathing hard. “What the actual hell are you doing out of bed?”

“I needed to pee. And then I was thirsty... Hey! I never got my juice!”

Tony looked around, nope, nothing to drink here. Except for that green plastic bottle...

“Touch it and I’ll scratch your eyes out,” growled Rocket. 

“Not the first time someone has said that to me, honey.”

Clint groaned. 

“Someone take him off the goddamn meds or I’ll shoot somebody.” 

“I’m perfectly fine,” Tony felt a bit off put and turned to Loki for support. “Don’t you think so, babe?”

A communication chime preempted Loki’s answer, that of course would have been ‘yes’. His green eyes hinted that the man had some other words to say as well, but they were held back because of their company. Tony moved one step closer to Clint for protection. 

_”Bridge to Engineering”_

“Go a head, Nat,” said Clint. 

_”Tell Stark to unmute JARVIS. He can’t speak to you because of a priority override._

“Oops,” Tony shifted. “I should probably change that protocol. Unmute.”

“Thank you, sir,” JARVIS sounded like Loki looked. 

_Also, the integrity lights are going off like crazy up here. Should we be worried?”_

“Not unless we start the Arc Accelerator again...” Tony looked over to the machine. “Who started it up without going through the checklists first anyway? Did you even start the integrity-timer? And who left that heap of junk on my pretty engines?”

“I have very good reasons for both of them!” Rocket raised his paw. “And fuck you, it’s not just a heap of junk. It’s a totally awesome heap of junk!”

Tony blinked when he noticed something quite upsetting. 

“Which wire did you use?”

“The shiny one?” Rocket picked his teeth with a pinky-claw. “The ag.”

“The what?” Clint frowned while Tony decided it was a good time to start hyperventilating. 

“It said ‘ag’ on the roll,” Rocket shrugged and got back to cleaning his gun barrel. “It works. And I’m sorry about skipping the checklists, but we were in a bit of a hurry.”

The _silver._ Not exactly the first choice of precious metals Tony himself would have started with for a jumbled up, and clearly improvised, project. He had to sit down on the floor, a bit awkwardly because of his halfway suited state, but he was feeling a bit dizzy. 

“Anthony? Are you well?” Loki hunched down beside him, a painful wince and a slightly worried look on his face. 

“Why wouldn’t I be?” Tony breathed with an ironic laugh. “The raccoon has used up all the pure silver wire, we have traveled lightyears with an unchecked broken ship, who knows what can have fallen off it, and my brain is scrambled, all is good.”

“If I may add to that list, sir?” JARVIS did an impression of clearing his nonexistent throat. “We have been two point thirty-four degrees off course the entire time, the battery is at nine percent, we are just in range of the gravitational pull of a Luminous Blue Variant star.”

“Despite me being a genius and very pretty, I’m not Jane. Tell me in real English, please.”

“The haul temperature is presently one-thousand eight-hundred fifty-three degrees Celsius, and rising. Haul breach in fifteen hours, forty minutes...”

“Haul’s already breached,” Tony rubbed his neck as his head whirled with thoughts. “All right! Someone bring me some very strong coffee, three aspirins, Bruce, Loki without his shirt, and a big ass em-effing blowtorch.”

“I’m not taking my shirt off,” said Loki. 

“Bruce is heavily asleep, he didn’t even wake for the ‘brace’, and I’m a bit scared to wake him,” said Clint hesitantly. 

“No one has refilled the coffee maker,” said JARVIS. “I can’t turn it on.”

“I only got this pocket blowtorch,” grinned Rocket, holding up a thing that looked more like a tiny squirt gun. “Groot was too busy to help me carry the big one.”

Tony just stared at them. 

“Good to know who your friends are,” he said after he recovered. “How’s about those aspirin?”

“Sir, that is not a good combination with what’s already in your system. I would wake Dr. Kingsley, but it’s his first time deep sleeping in over thirty hours... Do you want some hot dark chocolate? I can send Dummy for it?”

Tony glanced at the other three looking expectantly at him. Loki smirked as he thought Tony adorable, it didn’t make Tony feel better. 

“...fine...” he muttered. “But I want marshmallows. The pink ones.”

“Absolutely, Sir.”

Tony took the squirt gun blowtorch from Rocket, it looked even smaller in his hand. 

“And send You to get my grown up tool case.”

“You and Butterfingers are off my grid, Sir.” JARVIS sounded like a father to teenagers. 

Nothing seemed to work for Tony at the moment. He couldn’t even figure how to get out of his semi-assembled suit. There was a release button somewhere... Loki waived his hand tiredly and the suit fell apart in pieces on the floor. 

“Thanks, babe,” Tony sighed as he stepped away from the mess. 

Loki just huffed. He had made himself comfortable on the cot where Rocket clearly already had made a cosy nest of scavenged pillows and blankets. Tony watched him for a moment, did his pale boyfriend look paler than usual?

“Wait,” Rocket held up a clawed furry finger. “Computer? Why are the bots off your grid?”

“They have their own network, Mr. Rocket,” answered JARVIS. 

“Fuck.”


End file.
